SHADOWBODY
by Crimson Sun
Summary: The spirit of an old foe is threatening new evil for all of Avalanche, especially Vincent. But do Yuffie's strange dreams have any relevance, and will they win this fight against the SHADOWBODY? (Chapter Seven Up)
1. Chapter One

There was thunder, cloud, but no rain.  
  
Across the fields of Gongaga it came, the roll of storm cloud that veiled the sky with its looming black mass and deafened ears with its clashes of thunder. With it, a wild wind tugged at the stems of flowers and grasses; trees shuddered and bent from its path.  
  
Crash! Miles away, a murderous sea battered the coasts of Costel Del Sol.  
  
Crash! Over the ocean, the inhabitants of Junon held their children closer while something monstrous growled its anger over the New Continent.  
  
And yet, the dark cloud seemed dry. Not a splatter of rain was released onto the world. The flashes of lightening, the steady drumbeats of thunder, just the shadow of what's to come.  
  
Like a warning, perhaps?  
  
  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun Chapter One  
  
  
  
Bugenhagen's eyes shot open as another rumble of thunder startled him out of what once had been sleep. When nothing came to greet his vision, he sat idly up from his bed and rubbed his eyes, hard. Reopening them, he recognized the familiar surroundings of his home; his Cosmo Canyon home, coated in the sheet of gray only night could spin.  
  
Of cause... it was nighttime. And of cause, the deep growling had not been a beast without arms, on the verge of kill, but dry thunder from the clouds outside. Ah, how dim-witted he was these days. Nightmares were certainly not a thing he normally feared.  
  
But still, what was with the constant bad weather, the constant disastrous visions these days?  
  
Bugenhagen sighed softly into his long beard and stood up rather shakily. Immediately, the head of his loving grandchild, who was asleep on a blanket next to his bed, rose from his own world of dreams. Bugenhagen made out two golden lamp-eyes against the darkness and the voice of his grandchild muttering, still half-asleep:  
  
"Grandpa? What is it?"  
  
The old man laid a gentle hand on the head of the child.  
  
"Nothing Nanaki, it is nothing. A dream, that is all."  
  
Soothed, Nanaki fell back into sleep almost immediately. Thunder was not enough to keep him from sleeping. Nor, Bugenhagen guessed, was it any trouble to the other members of Avalanche down in the inn of Cosmo Canyon. They were a tired group after all that fighting and 'saving the earth', and they had returned to Cosmo Canyon solely for its peace and quiet.  
  
Oh, sorry. He almost forgot. Something happened to peace and quiet a few days ago. And while everyone else dismissed it for an odd cold front of weather, Bugenhagen felt it was something more...  
  
Another crack of thunder turned the Wiseman's head towards his window. Following the not-too-distant roar came another sound. A whisper, almost, in the back of Bugenhagen's ancient mind. He could almost see for a moment the source of the voice; the monster of ugly blue from his nightmare, without arms, its tail thrashing behind it. The hideous thing opened its monstrous mouth, and sharp fangs exposed themselves to the beholder. It seemed to be saying something in a distant and forgotten language... promising unspeakable evil upon the earth...  
  
Then the lightening flashed again, and the voice faded.  
  
Creeping past his grandchild, Bugenhagen decided he needed to clear his head. Desperately.  
  
  
  
Not knowing he was thinking what the Wiseman Bugenhagen had thought, Vincent Valentine of Avalanche found himself surrounded by an unbearable noise. Everyone else around him seemed to be able asleep... Or perhaps that was the real problem.  
  
He had never thought snoring could drown out the sound of thunder, but with Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, and Cloud Strife in the same room, and all sound asleep... well, it was another story. The deep inhale of breath from all three men and the loud growl they issued was almost nerve-racking. How could they even stand each other? Was there some form of immunization that only the snoring ones had to keep from hearing themselves and other snore- ers alike?  
  
But Vincent had not the patience, nor the interest, to ponder this question. Deciding that even the rumble of REAL thunder would be more comforting than the noise these three were making, the dark man slid from his blankets, dressed himself silently in his equally dark clothes, and slipped out the door of their room in the Cosmo Canyon Inn.  
  
Coming down the stairs, he noticed that the mess from their reunion party last night still lay, un-cleared, on one large table of the tiny bar. He recalled all the drinking done here last night (Mostly by Barret, Cid, and Yuffie Kisaragi) and shook his head slightly. Perhaps they had a reason to do all that snoring after all. They had, in fact, a lot of reasons to celebrate after the defeat of Sephiroth. Reeve's promotion, Cloud and Tifa's planned marriage, Marlene's scholarship... All of which were good - great - news that Vincent should rejoice over. There was no more danger in the world anymore, right?  
  
Wait, what was he thinking? The other men's snoring was a problem but it was hardly a threat to the planet...  
  
His chain of thoughts was broken by a tiny sob from the back of the bar as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Someone was crying? Who could be up in the middle of the night, sitting in a closed bar, crying? Automatically quietening his steps, Vincent strode silently towards the source of the strangled cries. The certain somebody was seated on the table at the furthest part of the small bar; a girl. As Vincent drew nearer, he recognized the young woman even with her back turned to him.  
  
"Yuffie?"  
  
It was like a lightening bolt from the storm outside struck through a hole in the roof; Yuffie Kisaragi, previously seated with her head in her hands and her elbows on the table, jolted upright and swirled around with an almost comical expression of shock on her face. Having gotten over the fright and seeing just who it was behind her, Ms. Kisaragi attempted to wipe away the tears that had previously flowed down her face and regain her dignity. Having done THAT, she stood up furiously and turned around completely.  
  
"Vincent Valentine, you..." What followed was a string of curses that Mrs. Kisaragi most certainly did NOT teach her lovely daughter. Vincent was just glad she was muttering them under her breath and not screaming and waking everyone.  
  
"Yuffie." Better explain himself before the conformer found another victim to claim. "My intentions were not to frighten you, I..."  
  
Seeing as her face was still flushed, Vincent abandoned the explanation and 'cut to the chase', as quoted by Cid Highwind. He lowered his voice in an attempt to sooth the agitated Wutainese.  
  
"You were crying."  
  
Recovered, and standing as tall as she could (yet still nowhere near the vampire's height, drats!), Yuffie felt like her old self again. So Mr. Goth- guy caught her off-guard, eh? No way she was going to tell the sneaky bastard anything. But just to make sure he didn't get any ideas, Yuffie wiped one hand across her still moist eyes before putting both hands on her hips.  
  
"No I was NOT." She objected. "I was just down here 'cause I couldn't sleep through that racket outside."  
  
And just to prove it was still there, the 'racket outside' gave another deafening rumble that shook the windows in their frames. The little girl inside Yuffie - the one that still winced when the thunder roared - gave another pathetic little cry of fright. She shivered.  
  
Yuffie might not want to tell Vincent why she was crying, but she couldn't deny the fact from herself. An old memory - almost ancient - had swum to the top of her head a few days ago, roused by the weather. Dry thunder... When was the last time she heard dry thunder? Something bad had happened, no doubt, and the impact of the shock still gnawed away at her brain. The last time rain refused to fall in the storm, her life was changed forever. She could recall her mother... and something Mrs. Kisaragi used to say...  
  
~When the sky cries without tears, darlin', another black soul escapes from the fires of hell through the bloody hole of its mouth. Without the river of tears to keep it back, darlin, it would roam free and cause chaos...~  
  
But she couldn't remember anymore. Frustrated, and swept by a sudden sadness for her lost parent, Yuffie had come down to the bar so her crying wouldn't disturb Tifa in her sleep.  
  
Well, Tifa Lockheart (Soon to be Tifa STRIFE) mightn't be disturbed now, but Yuffie was.  
  
"What are YOU doing here anyway?" She questioned, managing to give Vincent a suspicious look despite her emotions. "Going out to prey on the necks of sleeping women?"  
  
Vincent shrugged off the obvious meant of offense.  
  
"I was being kept up by a different sort of thunder." He replied casually into the collar of his cape. At this, Yuffie almost laughed. She knew what he meant; she had heard the snoring inside the boys' room five steps away from their door. And the fact that Vincent - I'm-to-cool-for-everyone- Valentine - actually made a joke without the slightest hint of humor on his face lifted something heavy within Yuffie's heart.  
  
She ALMOST laughed. She ALMOST reached out, patted Count Valentine on the back and told him he was 'alright'. She ALMOST could have told herself she would be all right too and could go back to sleep...  
  
If not for the sudden piercing, frightened, blood-churning scream of an old man loud enough to wake the entire village breaking the midnight silence.  
  
Then another crack of thunder boomed, and the rain finally began to fall.  
  
  
  
Chapter One ~ Fin.  
  
AN: A first shot at fanfiction... with much encouragement from my good friend Picc, aka Wandering Chocobo, aka Silent Rain. I thank you, Picc, and I thank everyone who has ever given me a review and told me to continue.  
  
Please review. I know my poetry is not S- grade, but I am wishing to continue this fanfiction. Tell me what you think. It is obviously nowhere near as good as the legendary Snow Fields fanfiction and 'Sink to the Bottom with You', but I am trying. 


	2. Chapter Two

~Enough...Enough...~  
  
The child's eyes misted over, and its hands stopped in mid-grasp. It felt itself shrinking... back to what it was? And for the first time, it was aware of a limp body - a limp and BLOODY body - slumped across its small knees.  
  
Gods... What did it do? What has it done?  
  
Before the child could even try to panic, the VOICE rang once again in its ears.  
  
~Leave the present... Leave the present, child...~  
  
It obeyed without a mind of its own. Slipping off a ring from its right hand, still sticky with blood, it dumped the 'present' in the mud next to its victim's carcass.  
  
~Enough...Enough...~  
  
The VOICE left its head completely.  
  
And then did it fully realize the impact of its own actions. Someone was dead... It had killed someone! Killed someone with its bare hands and fists!  
  
But how? HOW?  
  
But that was no matter to the child anymore than the rain, which had started to pour after so much forward warning. The only thing that was in the small person's head was:  
  
RUN!  
  
It was not the VOICE the child so dreaded ordering, but its own conscience, and the conscience was SCREAMING. Gasping and slipping on mud, it tried to escape the horrors that held it in the middle of a tangled web. And like being trapped in a web, the child found fleeing next to impossible. It was paralyzed in the moment, being pounded flat mercilessly by the falling rain, and the howling wind threatened more than once to carry its light body away.  
  
DRAT, KID! GET UP! RUN!  
  
Finally, when it was able to stand without its legs giving way beneath it and the pounding of the rain pushing it down, another voice - a real voice - came from behind it.  
  
"Stop!" The stranger commanded. If he had anything else to say, thunder cut the sentence off.  
  
The child has been discovered!  
  
And only then did the unwilling murderer have enough energy to brace its tiny legs, and race, still stumbling, out of Cosmo Canyon Village.  
  
  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Two  
  
  
  
Yuffie's stomach did a full flip-flop at the sound of the voice. She felt nerves sending panic all the way to her brain, and her brain sending it back to the ends of her fingers and toes. Beside her, Vincent also froze, but she saw the remains of what must be his Turk instincts pull his flesh hand to his gun-holster.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Yuffie finally managed to splutter, feeling all the while her momentary comfort washing off her by an invisible indoor rain.  
  
Vincent, however, did not answer. He leapt over the table between them and the door with all the grace of a deer and was out of the inn before Yuffie could pull herself together.  
  
Upstairs, the young ninja could hear groans and some other signs of awake- ness. The others MUST have heard that bone-chilling scream, how could they miss it? Even if they could sleep through thunder, that sound has the ability to penetrate through dreams and stab at the mind like ice. The weather does not. They would want to know what happened, and would Yuffie want to hang around long enough to answer (or stutter at) their questions?  
  
Most certainly NOT!  
  
"ViVi, wait!" Yuffie had wanted to follow Vincent's example and leap over the table, but decided against it. A Wutainese with a broken leg never helped anyone during crisis, and she wouldn't want to be the first to try.  
  
She heard Vincent call a harsh 'Stop!' into the storm outside and felt her insides flip again. Whoever caused the scream was still out there? The monster in her head, twenty feet tall with rolls of spiky, sharp teeth and a appetite for blood, was still out there? Geez, will there EVER be a time for peace for the always-courageous but tired-off-their-asses members of Avalanche?  
  
~But most importantly, ~ she heard her brain say, ~WHO had been the monster's victim? ~  
  
  
  
Nanaki did not hear the scream, being in Bugenhagen's house and observatory and too far away to, but he felt it.  
  
He FELT the pain of the screamer bolt into his being, frying his insides and turning everything liquid.  
  
He FELT the waves of dizziness that followed the screamer's injury, threatening to bring up the sour water at the back of his throat.  
  
He FELT the air pressing him down as the screamer realized his fate and come to understand the horrible act done to him.  
  
And he FELT the dreadful second pass, returning him from the victim's mind into his own body once again.  
  
Without the slightest proof, nor the slightest doubt in his head (though he failed to see how he could be so sure of himself), Nanaki knew just who it was that had been linked to his heart, and had been caused so much suffering...  
  
"Grandpa!"  
  
Stricken, the creature bounded up and raced into the rain outside, hoping to whatever God there was that he wouldn't be too late.  
  
  
  
Through the pouring rain, Vincent made out a small shadow, running with all its speed and disappearing under the stairs that led out of Cosmo Canyon.  
  
~Could that tiny thing be the intruder? ~  
  
But he knew it was. He saw it, covered in blood, kneeling in the mud before the injured body before the rain really began to fall and obscure his vision. And when he had shouted 'stop', he was sure he smelt the distinct fear of guilt in the atmosphere. Even when the time was midnight, and the weather conditions could not exactly be described as 'fine', Vincent knew he could trust his senses. The professor had put a lot of work into them, after all...  
  
Now was not a good time for a trip down memory lane. Ignoring what the rain was doing to his hair and clothes, Vincent took a few brisk steps and jumped onto the platform that held the Sacred Fire of the village, now nothing but a pile of damp logs. He has heard Bugenhagen once say that the fire was supported by the strongest of spirit magic. Not a normal storm would be able to put it out. That was how they were forewarned of evil, Bugenhagen said...  
  
Oh, Gods...Bugenhagen...  
  
The Wiseman of Cosmo Canyon lay on his face in the mud, blood flowing freely from an ugly wound that stretched from his shoulder to his left hand. Gods, was his flesh ripped off or something? The rain was mixing his blood with the mud around him, making the area around the man look something like the crater of a recently erupted volcano. Despite everything, Bugenhagen uttered a low, pitiful moan that spoke for itself.  
  
He was alive. But he may not be happy about it.  
  
Vincent moved quickly. Being careful as to not widen Bugenhagen's wound any larger; he ripped off a piece of material from his own cape and tied it as best he could over the bleeding area. Bugenhagen groaned again and tried to open his eyes.  
  
"Don't." Vincent warned him. "Don't move and remain perfectly still."  
  
And it was then that something else caught his eye. It was almost buried in mud and invisible through the curtain of rain, but Vincent felt unspeakably drawn to the tiny object. It looked like... a ring of some sort...  
  
  
  
Yuffie didn't want to get herself wet, not to mention risking tripping on a loose pebble in the darkness. It was almost ~eerily~ dark this night; normally the fire of Cosmo Canyon would be burning despite a few pitiful raindrops. But...  
  
If it weren't for the tiny lamps still glowing somewhere far off in the distance of the village, Yuffie would have never spotted the platform of the Sacred Fire, and would have never spotted Vincent, apparently kneeling over something. Something? SomeONE, more like it. Her dinner rose up again to her chest, but she forced it down and climbed onto the structure next to Vincent.  
  
"Omigod! Bugenhagen!" She screeched as she reached down to try and assist the poor old man in some way. "Vincent, what-"  
  
But Vincent wasn't looking at the Wiseman. Nor was he looking at Yuffie. Something in the palm of his claw got the full attention of his ruby eyes. He seemed far away, lost another one of those dream worlds he often drifted into. Despite her worry for Bugenhagen, anger bubbled up inside the young ninja. What the hell is so important that Vin can risk the life of their old friend?  
  
"Vincent Valentine!" She slapped his back, and was pleased to see that his claw immediately closed on the tiny object he was holding. It seemed to Yuffie like some ring-shaped thing (probably a RING?). But she couldn't care less if it was a million gil at the moment.  
  
"Yuffie, look after Bugenhagen." Vincent's voice was cold, colder than usual. Much to Yuffie's amazement, dismay, and anger, Vincent Valentine, who was supposed to help her with this horrible situation, rose to his feet, jumped off the platform, and disappeared down the stairs out of Cosmo Canyon with all the unnatural speed of the vampire that he was. After a blink to clear the raindrops stuck in her eyelashes, Yuffie found she could no longer see Vincent. He's gone.  
  
"What the hell?" She cursed openly into the storm. Yeah, just what the HELL does that man think he's doing, leaving her like this? And just what the HELL was he looking at in his hand just then? Whatever it was, Yuffie knew that that thing had to be the cause of Vincent's stranger-than-usual behavior. He was often the most responsible in crises! What the HELL could have driven him to leave Cosmo Canyon's Wiseman in this time of need?  
  
She had to find out. And then afterwards, she can let Vincent have a little piece of her mind, too. But she couldn't just leave Bugenhagen irresponsibly like Vincent did! Damn, where were the other members of Avalanche when they were needed?  
  
As if on cue, Red XIII appeared out of the darkness. And never have Yuffie seen a more grieved, frustrated, angry, sad, and confused Red all at once.  
  
"Grandpa!" Red jumped onto the platform and howled his fury to the night. "Are you all right? Speak to me..."  
  
Here was her chance! Yuffie could see the other members of Avalanche now, running out of the inn and into the rain. They wouldn't need her here anyway, and she wanted to make her move before the others get a chance to question her actions.  
  
"Red, listen, ViVi took off a moment ago, probably after the freak who did this." She explained as calmly as she could, and as quietly as she could. But it was hard to be quiet when she had to shout to be heard over the storm.  
  
"Take me with you!" Red growled, his voice dangerous and low. But before Yuffie could respond, Bugenhagen did for her, his voice thick with effort.  
  
"Nanaki, stay here...with me...I don't have... much time, dear child..."  
  
Yuffie felt pity for the Wiseman, and for Nanaki, whose shoulders sagged visibly just listening to the pain his grandfather was in. But she had to go. It was now or never. The Wutainese hopped off the platform of the Sacred Fire, being careful not to trip over her own feet in the darkness and rain.  
  
"And tell Cloud I've borrowed his Chocobo!" She screamed as a goodbye to Avalanche before she, too, disappeared into the night.  
  
  
  
Chapter Two ~ Fin  
  
AN: There was a lot of point-of-view changing in this one. Sorry everyone.  
  
This has got to be the longest chapter of anything I have ever written. So probably it is full of mistakes and confusing bits. Still, tell me about it in your reviews.  
  
And thanks to the people who reviewed the first chapter. I hope you still wish to continue reading this... 


	3. Chapter Three

~Oh, we're racing now...~ Inside the young child's mind, the VOICE was gleeful.  
  
It would have been more joyous if it knew just how much the rain was pouring all over the world and how gloomy everything seemed to be, just the way it liked things. But after all, the VOICE did not have a body to feel. It used to, but now it was merely the sum of fear and all that was bad inside the body of a child.  
  
The child thinks it had killed Bugenhagen, and the VOICE did nothing to deny it of that thought. For right now, the torrents of fear and guilt, confusing and grief, inside the young's mind was overwhelming, enough for the VOICE to simply consume them, break free, and claim the body for its own. It would transform these tiny helpless limbs into claws, make arms sprout behind this tiny back, grow fangs from this tiny mouth, turn this tiny defenseless creature into a giant demon of hell...  
  
But... the VOICE would wait. Wait for what it knew was coming. WHOM it knew was right behind this tiny figure.  
  
~Oh, we're racing...~ The child was running, running for its dear little life. But perhaps... perhaps the remaining powers from the VOICE's past would give it a little help...  
  
  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Three  
  
  
  
Raindrops as big as her thumb pounded endlessly down as Yuffie steered Cloud's golden Chocobo through the storm. She was soaked through, absolutely waterlogged. Her skin itched with discomfort as her clothing clung to it, and her short hair was pasted to her head and face. And that was not to mention being cold from being wet and tired from carrying her giant conformer in one hand.  
  
~Damn Vincent Valentine and this damn weather! ~  
  
But Yuffie had little to no time to think about the awful things she would do to Vincent if she found him. All of her concentration presently went to just keeping the Chocobo beneath her under control. Flare always seemed so gentle around Cloud... HE never had to promise it ninety-nine memmet greens to get it up and moving...  
  
Being blinded by the rain, the young ninja wondered if Vincent was having any more luck than she was locating his whereabouts. It would be easier for him, she guessed, because he wouldn't have to worry about controlling the stupid birds. He apparently chose to ride his own Chocobo; the black Lucia was gone when Yuffie went to 'borrow' Flare. But despite its temper, Flare, being Lucia's breeding partner, had a good and accurate idea where it had gotten to. That did Yuffie good, though it was bad how the Chocobo was not too happy at all to co-operate with a sixteen-year-old ninja with a weapon as large as its body in her hands.  
  
So now, Yuffie sat on the reluctant Flare as the Chocobo raced on, depending on the golden male's instinct and the bond between the birds to get her to Vincent. They seemed to be going in a straight line, crossing the plains of Cosmo Canyon and headed north along the Nibel mountainside. Where was Flare going, she thought? And would it catch up to Lucia and Vincent before she froze to death or drowned?  
  
~I shouldn't be worrying about myself. ~ A clear picture of Bugenhagen and Red XIII appeared for a second, then disappeared.  
  
Shocking, gruesome, poor Bugenhagen, Red, yadayada. In the end, Yuffie could only conclude that the darkness had done one thing right by hiding most of the Wiseman's body. But she did notice was that the wound was nasty, and she half-hoped that Vincent wouldn't find that monster who implied that hurt. Even though Bugenhagen was a frail old man to the eye, she thought that Vincent wouldn't stand any more of a chance than he did up against the 'thing'.  
  
Poor Bugenhagen. Poor, old, wounded Bugenhagen.  
  
~I'll find some way to pay them back for abandoning them later. First of all, I need to see what's wrong with ViVi! ~  
  
  
  
Vincent didn't think anyone would follow him, nor did he care. He didn't care about anything at the moment; the storm, the night, all forgotten because of his own swept-up emotions. Though he thought that one day, the Gods would punish him for abandoning the village of Cosmo Canyon.  
  
He really shouldn't have left Bugenhagen, Yuffie, and the others like he did, but selfishness was an irreversible flaw in the human being, and despite everything, Vincent was still partly human. And maybe the lack of any other human emotion was a good thing, because humans tend to make excuses that are far less than plausible whenever they weasel out of something like Vincent just did.  
  
~I'm chasing the thing without name, and that would do everyone good. ~ Human-Vincent offered.  
  
~I'm chasing the thing without name, but I do it for myself. ~ Inhuman- Vincent, the stronger part of him, immediately countered. He would offer himself no relief. He knew his own reason to track down the shadow ahead, and he'll stick to it.  
  
Vincent looped his claw tighter around Lucia's leash. His flesh hand was closed around the tiny object he had found near Bugenhagen. In the night, in the damp, the metal seemed alight. He thought he could feel it burning into his glove, biting at his skin and traveling upwards until it flared a bonfire in his heart. The pain agonized him, but he would not let the object go. Not when he knew exactly what it was, and exactly where it had first come from.  
  
The item in his hand was indeed a ring, a small delicate shape to fit the dainty female finger. The ring was specially crafted, with rare gold forming its structure. It resembled a dragon, with the tiny body forming the smooth curve, and sharp bat's wings and a long and pointed head coming together to support a many-sided, glowing blue materia. Alike the condensed mako piece, the dragon's eyes were also glowing, but instead of beauty, it burned with a fierce and menacing red. Hah... even the ring seemed to scream evil, and its intentions were indeed.  
  
Vincent had not seen this ring in a long time, but he remembered it like he remembered the owner's tortured face. He remembered his own torture as the ring was presented to its previous owner, and the pain that was once just a numbing ache at the back of his head turned into a full migraine as he held the tiny object again...  
  
~Lucrecia's ring...Lucrecia's tortured face...~  
  
With thoughts of Lucrecia immediately arouse thoughts of Hojo, the scientist turned mad by his own intelligence. What had become of the professor in the end? He died for his actions, of cause, and Vincent had delivered the last blow to finish the madman's life. Vincent had prayed for Hojo's soul to rest in peace, but it seemed that even the death the professor stirs...  
  
This ring, this ring that impacted his thoughts so and burned into his flesh, was Hojo's wedding ring to Lucrecia. The ring that ended the last days of her life on earth. And Hojo had known what his actions would have done to Vincent... for Vincent had been forced to be one of his 'best men'.  
  
This was Hojo's evil intention, Hojo's plans for the world that was to come. With this ring came Lucrecia's pain, Lucrecia's heartbreak, and Lucrecia's son. When the young lady scientist died, Vincent had already been stored away someplace, left to rot and be forgotten. He had thought the ring went with Lucrecia to the very depths of the lifestream, but obviously, it still had unfinished business on earth.  
  
The ring pulsed with Hojo's scent, mingled with a stench of fear and another of blood. The shadow had left this, and it was left intentionally.  
  
~So I have to find out who or what held on to this item to this day. ~ Inhuman Vincent said mentally. ~There would be time to care about AVALANCHE later, but now we focus on one thing only. ~  
  
~And don't get distracted! ~  
  
The rain continued to fall outside his mind, and Vincent shuddered as he suddenly realized how wet he was and how much the wind was making the unpleasant feeling ever more chilling. Lucia, faithful Chocobo, slowed in steps as it tracked the tiny shadow, lost in the darkness beyond, but never faltered. First Vincent thought the decrease in speed was due to her own feathers being drenched in rain, but then, as the Chocobo's head started moving, Vincent sensed another person coming towards him. Quickly, almost instinctively, he slipped the tiny gold dragon in his shirt pocket where it burned even closer to his heart.  
  
Vincent could hear the screaming now, the high-pitched screech of an agitated sixteen-year-old girl. He held Lucia's leash with both hands as he reluctantly slowed the Chocobo down.  
  
~Well, at least we weren't planning a surprise attack. ~  
  
  
  
"VINCENT VALENTINE, I COMMAND YOU TO HALT!"  
  
How long has she been chasing him? How LONG has he kept the next great lady of Wutai out in the rain with nothing on but her party clothes, clutching desperately to Cloud's mad Chocobo with one hand and her giant weapon with the other?  
  
Yuffie didn't know, and she couldn't care less at the moment. Despite the numbing cold and blinding, rainy darkness, she was close enough to see Vincent's large cape, still flying out behind him like bats wings even harder than it normally did, with the wild wind to back it up. His hair, too, the large amount that wasn't stuck to his face, was also being tugged fiercely by the storm, making his whole visible appearance alike one of those damned vampires in the many movies of DRACULA.  
  
~Gods, this is so like one of those horror movies! ~ She wailed mentally to herself. The night, the storm, but instead of Count Dracula, the guy in front of her was Count VALENTINE. But Gods know he could be just as bad in many other ways...  
  
In front of her, Lucia the Chocobo threw up its head and squawked sharply, having been pulled to an abrupt stop. Good, at least Vincent still had enough sense in that flyaway brain of his to listen to her. If he didn't... She could have used the target practice.  
  
"Yuffie, go back to the others." Vincent shouted, his voice only slightly above the roar of the storm. Yuffie thought she detected a slight hint of annoyance in his tone, but before she could say anything about it, Vincent was kicking Lucia to get her moving again.  
  
~Oh you'll keep going, huh? ~ Yuffie pouted openly, seeing Vincent wasn't paying enough attention to her to call her a little girl. ~Well you can't dump me again! ~  
  
"Vincent!" She kicked her own carrier to catch up to the man's, all the while screaming into the wind as loud as she could. She wasn't in the mood for politeness, which wasn't really her thing in the first place.  
  
"Yuffie, go back." Vincent 'answered'. Yuffie waited for something else, but when nothing came and Lucia kept running, she growled something audible only to herself and rode right after the damn bird and its damn rider.  
  
"VINCENT!" More loudly this time, with more force, she hoped. "You don't leave a girl with an injured old man with no explanation, in the middle of a damn storm in the middle of the night! And do you even have the slightest clue where you're going?"  
  
Vincent Valentine just kept on riding. And Yuffie, having been born with stubbornness, followed. Flare, being the golden Chocobo that he is, soon kept up easily with Lucia with an inch worth of space between them.  
  
That man with her is crazy to think he could beat whatever it was that injured Bugenhagen by himself. Yuffie knew with experience that Bugenhagen, as frail as he appears, could actually defend himself better than most people much younger than himself. (Experience? A bad one when she once ran out of materia and had to 'borrow' some from the nearest person, which just so happened to be...) He didn't use weapons or fists, he simply gathered what energy he had and sort of... messed with the enemies' heads a little. Bugenhagen had a way with that telepathic mumble-jumble that Yuffie could never understand, but she knew it was strong enough to hold off anything BUT a worthy foe.  
  
And that horrible scream he issued... She has never heard Bugenhagen - or anyone - scream like that before. That scar wound on his arm must be more than meets the eye. And what did the Wiseman say? 'I have not much time' or something? Did Bugenhagen already know his fate?  
  
The thing they were chasing was dangerous, LETHAL, even. Didn't Vincent know that? Did that thing he found on the ground meddle with his head or something?  
  
"Vincent..." She started again to try and bring him to his senses, but when she turned to look at his face, she found she had been only wasting her breath. There was something like stern concentration in his garnet eyes as he stared at something up ahead, and that was currently taking all of his attention. She followed his gaze and saw nothing but the excited raindrops swirling into her eyes, and the darkness in front of them stretching endlessly on and on like they were riding through some unearthly black hole.  
  
"I highly suggest you go back now before it's too late, Yuffie." Vincent's voice sounded a mile away.  
  
~Why? What did she miss? ~  
  
But even though she sure as hell couldn't see anything unnerving, Vincent must have. Lucia threw up its head again before leaning down in sprint position, and raced on with its wings outstretched and its mouth wide open.  
  
Yuffie pulled her mouth into a straight line as she urged Flare after Lucia, trying to ignore the endless plummeting of the raindrops on her skin and in her eyes. She battered her eyelashes and wiped one hand across her face, so maybe she could at least see where she was going, not to mention spot whatever it was that Vincent saw.  
  
If one tries hard enough, one is bound to achieve... A shadow flickered on the path ahead of them, so light and fast that Yuffie thought it only her imagination at first. (Was it so small? And did it have wings?) Then something descended into her head with a force that nearly knocked her off her Chocobo, yet did not have a form. A dread, a deadly gloom, wrapped itself around her brain and refused to be swept off by the torrents of rain. The air around her suddenly felt like cotton, suffocating her as she tried desperately to breathe. Her head spun, the whole world spun, and the ache in her head caused a nausea so strong it threatened to bring up whatever was left in her stomach. A sickening metallic sound rose in her ears, and the world dissolved and lost its shape before her eyes.  
  
Then everything snapped back to normal.  
  
Yuffie gasped and gulped in a deep breath while looking around her in amazement. Vincent was still ahead of her, still uncaring, though she thought she heard him draw in air hastily too. The rain was still pounding on her cold and weary body, and the darkness...it went on and on. But it wasn't the same. It was as though she erupted through an invisible barrier and arrived on the parallel universe on the other side, only with an enhanced feeling of sense. She could feel evil brooding just in front of her, the shadow that she glimpsed for one second mocking her from ahead.  
  
And then Yuffie Kisaragi knew: It was too late to turn back.  
  
  
  
AN: This chapter was delayed for three main reasons, which would only waste time if I were to tell them.  
  
This chapter had a lot of thinking in it, and I do hope you have not gotten bored. I am afraid of writing the fourth chapter; my chapters are lengthening and I find I cannot do anything about it...  
  
The writing in ~ are thoughts. I find my WordPad program cannot be posted onto the website, and italics in Microsoft Word does not show for some reason.  
  
Thank you for your reviews, all of them have helped me gather enough inspiration and confidence to write this chapter. I am beginning to lead up to something. Fancy you know who the shadow is? 


	4. Chapter Four

~I wait for you where love is lost...where heartbreak is born...~  
  
No! The child squirmed, or tried to, in the heavy air. It kicked its feet and clenched its small hands into fists, but its wings held and it stayed airborne.  
  
~I wait for you where stars are earthed...they crash and melt...~  
  
It was aware of its eyes watering; tears running down its face and blending with the endless streams of rain. The VOICE was winning...The VOICE always wins...And at this moment, the VOICE was using the child as a mouth to send out its ghastly messages.  
  
~I wait for you where mirrors hang...but give no reflection...~  
  
The tingling inside told the child it was changing again. The wings - over which it had no control despite the fact they were a part of its body - stretched and gave a mighty lurch, carrying it even further into the night where it did not want to be.  
  
~...Where cupid's arrows lie, bent and broken...~  
  
It flew faster, and with each flap of its wings brought a sharp pain in its back. The child was starting to feel nauseous, but there was no way to avoid the pain.  
  
~...Where noises blend, and silence rule...~  
  
The cold wind drummed rain into its eyes unforgivingly. It closed them, willing to be swept into the freezing temperatures where it might finally find peace.  
  
~I wait...~  
  
Then the wings flapped harder, and the child was propelled into the distance. Every piece of it was burning so fierce with cold that it desired to just DIE and escape the torture. But it could not; the VOICE was in control and the VOICE was impatient to get to the final destination. And there, and only there, might the child get some sort of comfort. There, where it could lie still and rest until its body stopped hurting. There, where the only thing to do is...  
  
...To wait.  
  
  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
  
Vincent pulled Lucia back sharply, his breathing labored as if he had been the running bird. He had had the shadow in his sights, then he heard something at the back of his head that made his skin craw and his heart beat faster until it matched Lucia's panting breath.  
  
It was a song that stirred him. A song that he has not heard sung by anyone for many...many a year. It had disturbed him deeply when he had first heard it, and now it was back and haunting him again. The eerie melody and the almost sickeningly sweet feminine voice made his head whirl and his insides turn inside out. Chaos shifted in his inner being, roused by his uncomfort, making the situation he was in even worse.  
  
And the irony of it all...the song had been Lucrecia's favorite; she sang it all the time. First the ring, now he finds himself hearing - or more accurately, recalling - things that had been buried under years of burden? Though Vincent was sure that this was no coincidence. The shadow has something to do with himself, and it had used Bugenhagen as a way to arouse his attention.  
  
Unacceptable...Yet another sin to add to his growing list. He could never atone for them all, but perhaps imperfection was in itself a punishment? The world was a strange place, and Vincent sensed things were about to get stranger still.  
  
He took a breath to compose himself and reassure Lucia that she was not about to be harmed. The poor beast was tired, and its feathers were almost completely drenched through. Being a black Chocobo and usually immune to bad weather, it was still shivering and exhausted after the long run in the rain. But Lucia was loyal, and Vincent knew it would run for him until it could run no more. But, as long as it has stopped now, Vincent found no reason to usher it on again. The shadow, as far as he was concerned, had spread its hideous mutated wings and flown out of his reach.  
  
~To a place where love is lost, and heartbreak is born. ~ He told himself mentally, already knowing exactly where to head.  
  
"Vincent?" Yuffie's voice broke into his thoughts and shattered the inner palace where he had been. Immediately, he was aware of the rain, thunder, and every other hazardous thing that returned with conscience, and that just added to his depression.  
  
"Yes, Yuffie?" Even though Vincent was just slightly annoyed that the young ninja had ignored his warning and followed him beyond the danger lines, he still hid that annoyance well. There was no point in getting angry. He had learnt that eons ago.  
  
"Um...Flare isn't moving." Yuffie answered, her voice doubtful. "He's planted himself on the ground and won't stand up."  
  
Vincent guided Lucia around and back towards Yuffie and Flare, who had been behind him when the whole chase started. It was true; Cloud's golden Chocobo sat on its large legs, its neck stiff and its eyes staring straight ahead. Yuffie had slid off the bird's back, and was now kneeling beside it on the wet grass and mud despite whatever stains it might give to her outfit. To Vincent's relief, she had laid her Conformer slightly away from the obviously shocked Chocobo, since that would only frighten Flare further. Rain poured off Flare's feathers and Yuffie's hair like tiny waterfalls, and the result was shivers from both.  
  
Thanks to Vincent's extra-enhanced vision, he was able to take in every sad detail. But that didn't make him any happier.  
  
"I told you not to follow." He was not about to offer any pity to the ignorant girl. "Flare is not used to being in such tense situations, and is not loyal enough to obey you."  
  
"Thank you, Sherlock, I knew that already." Yuffie pulled a face as she looked up at him. "But what am I supposed to do now? I can't just sit here and look after him."  
  
Vincent turned Lucia towards the now closer Nibel mountains that they had been going along, and set her off again at a slower pace.  
  
"Frankly, I don't care what you do." He said back to Yuffie. He knew he was acting slightly cold, but the girl needed to be taught a lesson. "I have more important things to attend to."  
  
"You want that thing that was flying ahead of us?" Yuffie was shouting now, her voice slightly panicky. "It's gone! You don't know where it went! How would you know where it was going?"  
  
"I have my ways." Vincent answered, and he did. In fact, he knew the shadow's whereabouts down to the last detail, and he was not going to be held now back by a stubborn brat. She could sit there and scream with that equally stubborn Chocobo all she wants, but he was not going to listen. Maybe if he didn't need Lucia for the trip ahead, he would have lent it to Yuffie and sent them both back, but since he did...well, too bad for Yuffie.  
  
When he has gone a few paces with the girl's shouting, he was surprised to find she stopped quite suddenly. But he didn't slow down. Perhaps Yuffie had just come to her senses.  
  
"You told me I wouldn't be able to turn back once I'm in this." What followed her silence was something strangely quiet from the normally noisy girl; just above the noise of the rain. Then her voice rose and she was shouting again. "Now I can't go back and you're just gonna leave me here?"  
  
This time, Vincent stopped.  
  
No... Was he softening? Had what she said reached him deep enough for the feelings of guilt to work their evil inside him? Vincent wanted to tell Yuffie it was all her fault, had wanted to do a bit of screaming himself and just leave her there, but somehow... somehow he couldn't.  
  
She was going to ruin all his plans, but whether he liked it or not...Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi were in this...together.  
  
He sighed deeply as his mind came to a decision he highly disagreed with. Pushing an irritating band of hair away from his face, he turned Lucia back the way they had come and went...unfortunately...back to Yuffie and Flare.  
  
She looked up at him with innocent eyes as he approached, and he was surprised to find the faintest sign of tears in those stormy orbs. As he drew up to her with Lucia, she stood and took her Conformer close to her, but didn't say a word. Her puzzled expression did all the questioning for her without having to utter a sound.  
  
"Get on." Vincent said coldly. He did not want her to have the wrong impression and think he was actually keen about this.  
  
"What about Flare?" She asked softly, seeing his annoyance and fearing it slightly. "Cloud would be really angry if-"  
  
He cut her off. "If you wish to stay here, I am very willing to continue by myself."  
  
"No, no, I'll come." She said quickly, struggling onto the back of Lucia with one hand while the other still clutched her precious weapon. The Chocobo warked under its sudden heavier cargo, but Vincent knew Lucia could hold double the weight on any other day. It was just a bit tired now, that was all. And Vincent intended for it to recover. Since he knew where the shadow was headed now, the rest of the way was going to be smooth and easy.  
  
If Yuffie allowed it, that is. Almost immediately after getting up on Lucia behind Vincent, she began to talk again.  
  
"Why didn't you shoot that thing?" She asked, while one hand absent- mindedly took hold of his cape for support. "I know you have your Death Penalty here and it was well in your range. Then we wouldn't have to go chasing it."  
  
"My business is my own." He answered icily, and Yuffie retreated.  
  
Of course, even if he told her, would she understand? The answer there is quite obvious. And not only would Yuffie not understand, she would ask further questions, and questions were not a thing he liked... Queries about things he did not understand entirely himself was especially dislikeable.  
  
But why hadn't he shot the shadow? That was simple. That child, or whatever it was, had obviously some connection to his past... and Lucrecia. For her, he had to find out just what the link was, and killing his only source of information would do him no good. Though, he reminded himself, the time for killing would possibly come sooner or later. Bugenhagen's injuries were not to go unnoticed, and the culprit was not to go unpunished.  
  
Yuffie lasted for about a minute before she spoke again. But, Vincent guessed, that minute's silence was already a record for her.  
  
"What's that thing I saw in your hand?" She asked curiously. "It looked like a ring of some sort."  
  
This time, Vincent did not even give her a reply. He just took Lucia's reins and kept her trotting along.  
  
"Fine." He heard Yuffie pout. "I know it has something to do with that ugly thing anyway."  
  
~Then you already know too much. ~ Vincent thought, but kept his eyes strictly on the road before them.  
  
  
  
With her favorite hobby (talking) ruled out, it was not long before Yuffie found herself falling into the world of dreams as both the steady rhythm of the Chocobo's steps and the sounds of raindrops lured her deeper into sleep. Ok, so she was cold, tired, and so wet she could be part of water itself, but leaning on Vincent's back had an element of comfort to it that she didn't quite understand...  
  
Having had been a ninja all of her life, she could have slept standing on a wire. So it was no problem to her sitting on a Chocobo AND holding her Conformer in one hand. In fact, it was actually quite 'cozy' once she had gotten used to it. Yuffie was actually pretty happy - dreaming of warm beds and her Wutainese home of cats - when her headrest moved suddenly out of its place, and all of her delusions of happiness snapped as she fell forwards.  
  
"Aw...ViVi, I was asleep." She yawned. With waking, all muscular pains and discomforts returned.  
  
"We're here." Vincent answered. He had gotten off Lucia's back and was walking ahead of them, holding her reins and leading her along the wet banks of what appeared to be an awfully large lake. Yuffie rubbed her eyes and her ears as sounds returned to her. She was aware of another roar in the distance, but it was not the rain she heard. Slowly, she lifted her head...  
  
"Where's..." ...and beheld a somewhat breathtaking scene that instantly took her sleepiness away.  
  
The lake she saw was definitely large, so huge that she could not see the other side of the bank, but just the mountains in the distance. The water was pure and seemed to glow in the pale gray light (which she suspected came from morning). Beyond the crystal clearness of the lake and off in the background, she spotted a giant blue mountain. And so straight it seemed to be a suspended piece of silk hanging off the mountain's peak was a majestic waterfall, shining in the lake's magical glow.  
  
She looked behind her, spellbound, and found herself surrounded by more immense landmarks, stretching their heads to heights unimaginable. The lake was like a round mirror, dead in the center of a jagged frame.  
  
"...Here...?" She finished her question, and gulped.  
  
"Lucrecia Falls." Vincent answered. He didn't appear to be enjoying the view.  
  
"But...but, why are we here?" Yuffie could clearly recall chasing a monster that had harmed Bugenhagen the night before, and had definitely not expected to end up in a fairy-tale wonderland the day after.  
  
She slid off Lucia's back and absent-mindedly stroked the bird behind its ears as she followed Vincent along the banks of the lake towards the mighty waterfall. For once, she didn't care that her companion didn't bother to answer her questions; it gave her more time to think things through for herself. Yuffie wondered just how even Lucia - probably the best black Chocobo there was - could scale the mountains that surrounded her. After all, she was looking at peaks nearing the height of the Northern Crater!  
  
How did they get here and where the hell was here?  
  
What exactly did Vinny have in that mysterious mind of his to bring her to this place?  
  
What happened to the shadow?  
  
Who was Lucrecia?  
  
There was surely a lot of detective work to be done around here. And since Vincent was not exactly Mr. Talkative, Yuffie would have to find out by herself.  
  
About halfway to the waterfall known as 'Lucrecia Falls', Vincent freed Lucia from its reins and checked if the communication device that would allow Chocobos to hear their master's calls from far away was still in its ears. Then with a few whispers to the bird and a pat on its head, he released Lucia and watched as it climbed the mountains, back the way they had come.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Apart from being curious, Yuffie was also now slightly scared.  
  
"She is tired, and I don't know how long this would take." Vincent had begun walking towards the fall again. "Besides, it may be dangerous for her."  
  
A realization struck Yuffie suddenly.  
  
"This...this is where that...that thing is, isn't this?" She asked, her voice quivering slightly. Vincent's silence answered for him.  
  
Well, at least two of her four main questions were out of the bag.  
  
She walked the remaining way to the waterfall with Vincent quietly; pondering just what was in store around the next bend. They stopped right up close to Lucrecia Falls and Yuffie took a moment to survey the enchanting scene again. All darkness seemed to bounce off the clear crystalline waters, and her fear seemed to evaporate with it. Despite what her father had once said against superstition, Yuffie believed the waterfall was magical, and it helped boost her confidence.  
  
"Are you sure you're ready?" Vincent asked her when they were at the foot of the mountain where the waterfall hung. She wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but she believed he knew what he was doing. She nodded, being more ready than she'll ever be.  
  
So when Vincent neared the falls and disappeared into the entering of a cave behind it, the young Wutainese followed without questioning. After all, she did tell Vincent she wouldn't back out, and a Lady of Wutai always kept her word. She was willing to face whatever danger was waiting for her beyond the next step, and danger there would be.  
  
After all, they were now both WAY into enemy territory.  
  
  
  
Chapter Four ~ Fin  
  
AN: That...has got to be the most lengthy thing I have ever written. Please tell me what you think.  
  
Repetitive?  
  
Boring?  
  
Lame?  
  
Stupid?  
  
Well, whatever your opinions are, I would like to hear them. And again, sorry for the delay in posting this. And thanks to the people who still want to read this story of mine. 


	5. Chapter Five

In it's natural home, surrounded by a gleaming white; the VOICE's energy was brimming. Pain added to its power, making the monstrous wings it had given to its servant twitch with excitement. Soon... So soon... It would begin its fun.  
  
~ They are coming. ~ It told the child. A sob answered, giving the VOICE more twisted glee.  
  
The stupid Turk had fallen into its trap like a fly to a spider web. When they arrive, the doors would be closed. The games would begin. And it had been so long...so long since the VOICE had had any form of entertainment...  
  
~ Yes...They are coming, my sweet, and then the party would start...~  
  
And as if on cue, footsteps echoed from the outside.  
  
  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Five  
  
  
  
The waterfall outside the cave roared as Yuffie followed Vincent down a long narrow tunnel. Despite her sickening anticipation and nervousness for what was going to happen, she still could not help but marvel at her surroundings.  
  
The tunnel was arched, extending its roof tall above their heads. The sides closed in on them, so that they could only walk behind one another. But that was nothing impressive, no, what stunned Yuffie was the fact that everything - the walls, floors, and the high roofs - were all made from a shiny, glassy material. They looked like icy mirrors, but when Yuffie looked closer, there was no reflection staring back at her like an ordinary mirror should. She secondly guessed they were windows, large pieces of glass that extended in one direction straight ahead of them, but again, that was not so. Though glass did seem more likely, but did they make glass that held swirling, green smoky substances inside their surfaces these days?  
  
She looked ahead at the dark man with his dark cape, dripping water onto the polished floor from his hair and his clothing. She glanced down and saw she was doing the same thing; puddles of water formed where her shoes had stood. Yuffie wondered how she could see so clearly, then realized the same smoky material inside the glass walls were illuminating some sort of eerie, emerald light.  
  
"Freaky." She muttered to herself. Just where the hell was this place?  
  
Vincent stopped in front her, and Yuffie craned her neck to see past his tall figure. The ninja saw what seemed like a wall ahead of them, the same glass that surrounded the two, and the gunslinger was running his hand along the smooth surface.  
  
"It's here." He said, more to himself than Yuffie. "I do not want to resort to battle, but it may very well come to that."  
  
"I'm in no condition to battle, ViVi." Yuffie grumbled. "Why can't we just go back and call Cloud and the others?"  
  
"I gave you that option, you refused." The gunslinger replied darkly. Clearly he was still not too happy about her being there. Yuffie ran her hands along her arms and shivered. There was no need for Vincent to be so cold! She was freezing as it was.  
  
"All right, fine." She took a deep breath. "Let's go."  
  
The wall at the end of the tunnel glided open like a sliding door, and Vincent stepped into the blinding green light beyond.  
  
  
  
Lucrecia's Cave was just as he remembered. The light at the entrance, the circular room lined with glass, marble steps that led up to the altar at the center back of the room, backed by three diamond-shaped crystals that stretched right to the high ceiling. For one moment of blessed obliviousness, he was almost willing to accept that this place was just as he left it when he last glanced upon Lucrecia.  
  
Almost. Then the air twisted and a brooding sense of evil rose as he surveyed the room more carefully. Something was sitting on the altar in front of him, and it was definitely NOT Lucrecia. Vincent drew a hasty breath as he saw the figure, and he heard Yuffie do the same behind him.  
  
It was a child, like he had guessed, but one that just sat at the edge of the definition. The thin, small body was slumped limply against the back wall, and long strands of tangled hair covered its face from view and made it difficult to classify its gender. But that was the least of Vincent's concerns. Large, ugly membraneous wings, each the length of its body, were folded behind the child's back, looking like weather-beaten black umbrellas. An awful amount of blood stuck to it, dripping down its chest and puddling in sickening pools underneath its legs. Its whole body, in fact, was clothed in the same coat of sticky crimson.  
  
What sort of child was this?  
  
"What...is...that...?" Yuffie was eyeing the small figure like it was a headless cockroach. "Is it...dead? It isn't exactly...moving."  
  
Her voice must have reached the child, for its head suddenly snapped up, making Yuffie jump in surprise. It rose up from its sitting position and rolled onto its knees. As it raised its head, the long fringe fell away to reveal its facial features.  
  
It - she - was a girl-child. And by her general appearance, she was no older than eight years old.  
  
She tilted her head and looked at Vincent with the saddest pair of eyes he has ever seen. They were moist with tears, tinted blue in color, and so light those pupils were almost pearls in a thick frame of dark lashes set into her pale skin. But somehow, they contrasted with the rest of her features - a tiny nose, a full, pallid mouth - and made her youthful face quite...beautiful, in a ghostly way. He suddenly felt he knew her somehow, but from where? It wasn't possible.  
  
"Who..." The small cherry mouth shaped a tiny sound. Her mutant wings twitched, and another tear rolled down her cheek.  
  
Surely this must not be the same being that harmed Bugenhagen, Vincent thought? Such a pathetic, weak creature, not even in control of her own emotions, could not possibly raise a hand against another?  
  
It was stupid what he did next, but he had to know.  
  
"Did you injure our friend?" He took a step forward and asked. Then, with a gulp, he added: "Did you drop the ring?"  
  
He took the dragon out of his pocket were it had sat, showing it to the girl. She seemed to recognize it, for her half-closed eyes widened immediately, making the stream of tears run down her face even faster. Her lip trembled, and Vincent got the impression that she was actually more frightened of them than they were of her. Nevertheless, he still pocketed the ring again, not wanting to damage the delicate shape if anything did happen.  
  
But the girl did not answer. Her eyes opened even wider to their full extent, and Vincent's fear of the creature returned as a transformation began to take place inside them. Those already half-invisible pupils disappeared completely into her eye-whites, spiraled like water down a drain, and reformed back into their original shape.  
  
Except this time, they were deep crimson in color.  
  
"Yes..." A smirk formed on the damned girl's face that did not remotely match her age. "I impaired the wound on the old bastard, and I left the ring."  
  
She stood up, no longer an innocent child, but radiating with the aura of evil presence. Vincent knew, then, that she was no longer herself. Some demon...some sinister thing... had taken her body for itself.  
  
"You certainly have commendable memory..." She continued, her voice a barely audible hiss. "And the song you heard was indeed Lucrecia's favorite."  
  
Vincent froze. His thoughts...how could the winged creature on the altar penetrate into his mind? He had never mentioned Lucrecia to anyone except the chosen few after she died, and certainly there was no one around in the darkest period of his life, when Lucrecia was still living? Yet this child, barely eight years old, knew his secrets as if she had been with him through the wedding, through the mental torture back in his past. He certainly didn't know her...he was definite of that. But...  
  
"Still do not know who I am, Valentine?" The child put on a face of mock- hurt. "Even with this new body, I did not expect you to forget the old me so quickly...especially when we met only three months ago, atop the Sister Ray."  
  
A thunderbolt could have struck Vincent, but it would not have made him jolt as violently as he did after those words. Of course! The ring, the song, the memories, this place. How could he be so naïve, being lured and trapped so easily in a web of emotions? The pieces fell together like an oversized jigsaw puzzle, and the picture was just revealing itself to be the most gruesome and terrible one he has ever set eyes on...  
  
"Hojo!" Confusion turned to anger as Vincent drew out the Death Penalty and all doubt was lost. "I killed you so you wouldn't return. I killed you so something like this WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN."  
  
The smirk broke into a twisted grin, then finally Hojo's crackling bounced off every single mirror in Lucrecia's Cave. To Vincent's eyes, it was no longer a child that stood in front of him. Hojo was back; complete with his long hair, glasses, and evil, gleaming eyes. The gunslinger raised his Death Penalty, aiming it at the old professor's greasy head. But the maniac, the crazed scientist, just kept laughing. Like he did when Vincent had blamed him for Lucrecia's death, like he did when he had changed the Turk's life forever. Questions of the professor's existence - how is he linked to the child? How was he revived? - disappeared. The wash of old, painful memories was overwhelming.  
  
"Would you shoot this poor thing?" The girl's arms spread wide, showing all her delicate profile. "This girl, this weak thing without the slightest power to defend herself?"  
  
Hojo paused, and Vincent heard Yuffie mutter something behind him that sounded slightly like 'do it'. But he had forgotten about Yuffie up to now, and a little more ignoring would not hurt.  
  
"She is my DAUGHTER." Hojo continued; the girl's smirk was wider, contrasting horribly with the rest of her features. Vincent ignored the statement; it was of no importance to him who the girl was.  
  
"Would you let your spite get the better of you, Turk?" It sounded like a challenge. If it was, he was up to it.  
  
"I've wrung the necks of sleeping children, murdered wives in front of their lovers." Vincent gritted his teeth and the words were almost spat out of his mouth. The child of Hojo just stood, her eyes watery and large. But there was no more innocence there, if there ever had been. She was the tool of the devil, and the remnants of her ghastly wings that still jagged out of her back backed up that fact with force.  
  
"You are well aware of what I am capable of." The ex-Turk finished, the shining barrel of his gun still pointed at the tiny figure in front of Yuffie and himself. Though he was not the heartless assassin that could finished any job with his gun anymore; Vincent's killing spirit had been much reduced during and after the year of Lucrecia's death. And now, again facing the demon spirit that had taken her away, he cursed as he felt the weapon tremble between his fingers despite his overpowering urge to kill.  
  
"Yes, Valentine, I am all too well aware." The girl answered, Hojo's spirit flaring inside her. "You killed my first son without the blink of an eye. Are you going to end the life of my second-born as well?"  
  
A twisted smile filled the face of the possessed body, and disappeared as suddenly as it came. The girl that stood in front of Vincent was back to being just another eight-year-old, her eyes swirling back to their original robin egg blue. She stared at the gun as if in a trance, not showing any obvious fear but the fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, retracing the line made by the ones before them.  
  
"End." She whispered, her voice hoarse, then rose as she shouted across the cave. She was so pitiful. just a tool to be used, in pain, misunderstood.  
  
"Kill!" She cried.  
  
But Vincent's heart wrenched; the feeling of pity long abandoned as a Turk had returned. It was not just her totally helplessness that sent that emotion rising, but he felt she was something more than just Hojo's demon. The professor had been womanizing in life; Sephiroth cannot be his only child. And Hojo would do anything; even demonize his children, to get what he wanted. But with this girl.the gunslinger felt a connection with. It may be just imagination, but he was certain he heard distant voices warning him away from her.telling him that to harm her would be like wounding something he truly loved.  
  
He hesitated. The gun he held lowered, and in a split second, the girl on Lucrecia's altar changed. "Oh GODS!" Yuffie screeched, and she had every right to.  
  
The useless wings that hung on the child's back burst into slimy tentacles as her body swelled and doubled in size. Then it kept on growing, not anymore a girl-child but the monster Hojo had designed her to be. Her face lengthened and fangs sprouted rapidly, filling the mouth that now was monstrous. Then before Vincent could recover, it was a beast that towered above him, claws on every end of uncountable tentacles.  
  
Yuffie's scream brought Vincent back to his senses, and he dived out of the way just in time as the monster made a grab at him with one of its massive deformed limbs. It roared, the terrible sound bouncing off every mirror of Lucrecia's cave.  
  
"TRANSFORM, VALENTINE!" It was a growl only Vincent could hear as he dodged to Yuffie's side and attempted to protect her. "TRANSFORM AND DESTORY ME LIKE YOU DID LAST TIME, WHY DON'T YOU?"  
  
Always up to a challenge, Chaos stirred inside of Vincent and stretched its wings, forcing them upwards and crushing his lungs. But he forced the beast down with a deep breath and concentrated on keeping the teenager behind him away from danger. He wished she could fight for herself, but for some reason, the normally active and brave ninja was paralyzed in the moment, her usually dangerous weapon useless without its master's will.  
  
"No!" Vincent shouted aloud, forcing himself to believe in his own words. Transforming would NOT help him protect Yuffie. "Chaos, STAY DOWN."  
  
Hojo's demon force rose up on its ugly behind, barely legs but more alike the slimy end of a snail. It seemed to be smirking, but one could not tell for the monster's jaws were always open, dripping, and exposed. Vincent pushed Yuffie to the rear of the wall, back towards the tunnel, while keeping one eye on their enemy all the time.  
  
"Move." He hissed to the ninja while pushing a small object into her hands. "Run, blow on the whistle I just gave you. Lucia would come and take you to safety."  
  
"What? What-what about that?" Yuffie seemed to have found her voice at last. "I can't just leave you here!"  
  
"I have the Death Penalty, don't I?" This was almost a growl. Chaos was summoning up the power of all his other demons and turning them against him.  
  
Yuffie looked slightly confused at his tone, but she had no time to wonder. A slimy tentacle burst from the blob of flesh that was Hojo and shot at them, claws stretching as if navigating the way to their throats. The ninja screamed, but the gunslinger was much more experienced with crises. Looping one arm around the girl's slim shoulders, he pulled both of them to the ground a mere moment before the sharp deformed fingers swished past the tops of their heads. A milli-second later the glass interior of Lucrecia's cave shattered above the two, and Vincent cursed again as he felt ice cut smoothly into his left shoulder. Yuffie bit her bottom lip and stayed motionless.  
  
"Go now!" He gave her one last warning. It was clear that if they hanged around any longer, the room was going to cave in and trap them here with this monster. And that was, of course, a fate no one wanted to face.  
  
The danger in his eyes must have reached the Wutainese; Yuffie seemed to gather herself together. She snatched the whistle from his hand and they both got up just in time to dodge another tentacle. It seemed to Vincent that Hojo was just playing with them, teasing them like a cat to a captured mouse. Worse yet, he felt fresh, warm blood seep through the cut on his shoulder and a wave of pain.  
  
~ Make that an injured mouse. ~ A voice taunted mentally. ~ You do not want to transform, but with Chaos, you may be more of a rat than just a handicapped mouse. ~  
  
~ Very helpful. ~ Vincent shook his head, retorting, and pushed Yuffie further towards the exit. ~ That attitude's not going to get you out of here! ~  
  
"ENOUGH PLAYING!" The voice of Hojo screamed again. "TOO ARROGANT TO TRANSFORM, VALENTINE? YOU WILL REGRET THAT DECISION WHEN DEATH IS FLASHING BEFORE YOUR EYES!"  
  
It was a terrifying sight, for suddenly the already monstrous form of Hojo's demon swelled again until its deformed head was touching the high ceilings of Lucrecia's Cave. It roared terribly, forcing the pair to cover their ears. With that came an awful silence.  
  
"SCARED YET...?"  
  
The unexplainable light source of the room dulled as seemingly hundreds of Hojo's tentacles burst from his fleshy body, twisting like snakes towards them with incredible speed. Yuffie screamed as her only escape was filled with thick squishy limbs, and even Vincent muffled a frightened shout.  
  
The Death Penalty was useless in short-range fighting; soon the gun was lost amongst layers of claws. They wrapped themselves around Vincent's neck and rendered his arms useless. They crawled to every inch of his body, and once they covered him, they began to SQUEEZE.  
  
This time, he thought he really did scream. Or was that sound issued from Yuffie, a few feet away from him, also being suffocated to death? He didn't know, and didn't think he wanted to find out. As time slipped away and his head lightened, Vincent wondered if he was also running out of hope...  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Vincent..." A wavering voice wove through his conscience like silk. Vincent found himself attracted towards the sound as if it was the south side of the magnet and he was the north. He would be alarmed, except calm swept over him like an ocean, drowning him in serenity and washing out his confusion. Though he still managed to put on a suspicious tone as he spoke next:  
  
~ What? What - where am I? ~ He didn't seem to be able to move or speak. But he heard his own voice as clearly as he did the other's.  
  
"Vincent, listen to me, darlin'. Concentrate." It sounded like a middle- aged female speaking, but he couldn't tell. A powerful light blocked everything out and nothing could be distinguished from their surroundings. As far as he could hear, it was just the woman and himself in this unfamiliar dreamlike place.  
  
~ Who are you? There is so much blinding white.Reveal yourself! ~ He was not about to leave anything to chance. He has been in states like this one before, except last time, the speaker was Chaos, who took advantage of his weakened mind to spread its evil.  
  
"Trust, my darlin'! There may not be enough time to explain if you doubt me. Who I am.I am a friend you never had." Urgency could be detected from the woman this time, and Vincent decided that if he could do nothing else, he was willing to listen. Believing this stranger he could not even see was unusually easy, even though he was trained against trust as a Turk.  
  
~ What do you want? ~  
  
"You must fight, dear!" Vincent did not like the subject of fighting brought up so abruptly; he had been content just drifting in composure. "You must not give up so quickly!" The woman finished, her voice edged with slight impatience.  
  
~ There is nothing more I can do. ~ He said truthfully and, in his opinion, quite pathetically. ~ Shooting is about the only thing I could do, but that was never good enough to finish Hojo off before, was it? ~  
  
"No, Vincent, you're holding back."  
  
At those words, he peered as best he could against the light. ~ How did you know? ~  
  
"Vincent, there is no time. You must fight!"  
  
~ But I can't! ~ His mind screamed. ~ The child. She's so.familiar for some reason. I can't.I feel as though I would rather lose my life than harmed her. ~ The woman's voice was drifting away, and over a wave of distance she whispered her last anxious words:  
  
"Dear Vincent, but are you willing to throw away the life of another?"  
  
~ * ~  
  
His eyes snapped open and cruel reality greeted his vision once more. For a second, it was quite harsh to find those ropes of flesh wrapped around his neck, suspending him in mid-air again. It was harder on his ears to realize Yuffie's screams beside him, slowly...painfully being choked off. But Vincent forced his mind back to the real world and the task ahead; it took all his concentration just not to pass out again.  
  
~ Yuffie! She was right. I have to do something...But what? ~  
  
Flexing his hands into fists, Vincent realized he still held the Death Penalty. But that would be no good; his arms were held stable by Hojo's dreaded tentacles. Besides, he couldn't shoot at this range, and if he couldn't shoot with his gun, what else could he do?  
  
Unless...  
  
"Fire 3!"  
  
Yes, he still had materia! Vincent felt the death grip on his neck loosen as a bright orange ball of fire burned in the center of Hojo's being and erupt into fiercely hot flames. But just as he tried to wrestle away from the ashen tangle, a tighter cluster of limbs captured him again. It was no good. The mastered fire materia was still no match for Hojo's demon. Instead of weakening him, the tentacles pressed themselves harder into his skin, as if desperate to squish him like an insect.  
  
He tried it again, then again, shouting the materia's name over the growl of Hojo's monster, each time enduring the pain it brought him as he thought of the child's original tender flesh. But it did not work. Every time the arms would retreat, burnt, to be replaced by new ones that held him in a tighter restrain.  
  
"Resistance, Valentine?" Hojo's tone of amusement sickened him. "It shall be punished."  
  
With his eyes shut in pain and exhaustion, he heard a swishing wind coming behind him. Opening them again rather reluctantly, Vincent saw, in shocked horror, the pointed end of a purple needle rise on the end of an extended tentacle. A revolting pumping sound made the limb swell, and the needle responded by oozing with thick crimson liquid.  
  
Yuffie's shrill yelp of terror sounded a mile away as Vincent saw the needle come towards him in slow motion. Those fangs of the monster Hojo stretched even further until his mouth disappeared behind his hideous head.  
  
"Yes..." A hiss, barely audible, full of twisted glee. "The Ultimate Punishment..."  
  
The needle came closer. Vincent's fist was clenched so hard that his nails bit into the flesh of his palm. There was another materia in one of the other slots of the Death Penalty, he remembered, but to summon its power would have to mean calling its name. What was it?  
  
"The Ultimate Punishment..."  
  
~ Ultimate Punishment? Ultimate - Ultimate? ~  
  
ULTIMA!  
  
That word barely left his mouth before Vincent found himself facing the burst of blinding green light that accompanied Ultima's magical spell. He expected this to be another feeble attempt to free himself; that the magic would fail like fire did and Hojo would be there after the light faded to inject the poison into his veins.  
  
But he was pleasantly surprised.  
  
A deafening roar rose in the heart of Lucrecia's Cave, bounced off every mirror, and reflected back stronger into Vincent's ears. This was torture, as his hearing was already more sensitive than that of the average human. For a lost second, he could neither see nor hear, but just feel the bind around his body tighten, tighten... Then fall away suddenly.  
  
As the magic of Ultima cascaded into brilliant colors and disappeared, Vincent suddenly realized the reason behind the materia's power over Hojo. Of course, wasn't it obvious? Ultima was extremely strong, but it was special in that it was also extremely strong spiritual magic. Hojo dwelled in the form of another, so to weaken him, spiritual energy must be the key!  
  
He did not realize how high up Hojo had held him. But a moment later he was thrown onto the floor of the Cave, the fall nearly knocking the breath out of the ex-Turk. A similar thump a short distance to his right told him that Yuffie had just landed in somewhat the same fashion. But he had just begun to tell her of Hojo's weakness when something sharp lodged itself into the wound in his back.  
  
"Vincent! The - the needle!" He didn't need the Wutainese's frightened scream to realize that Hojo's needle had just pierced into his bloodstream.  
  
It stayed for only a second, a mere second was enough to pump its poisonous cargo into his body. But the pain still traveled like wildfire to every inch of his being, causing him to issue a shout in a voice so unlike his own. As soon as the venom settled inside him, he felt it harden, weighing him down like lead. Dizziness reached his head; a curtain wrapped itself around his nerves. His eyelids felt just as heavy as he strained to keep alert... But sleep was calling... Visions blended together...  
  
He had enough sense to see Hojo shrink. Then the small girlish form of Yuffie jumped in front of him, and a powerful blue light filled the room and blinded him again.  
  
  
  
"ALL CREATION!"  
  
Being crunched to death by a mass of deformed monster flesh was one thing, but seeing one of her friends being stabbed by an over-sized needle was quite the other. Yuffie bit her lip and concentrated her all upon the one, ultimate limit break that would surely determine the fate of Vincent and herself.  
  
All Creation was her strongest attack, formed by will of mind and the determination of her spirit. It would not do physical damage, but home in on the presence of evil and strike instead at its source. She had defeated many sinister beings with All Creation, and even the great Sephiroth had shook in its path.  
  
Unknown to Yuffie, she had done exactly what Vincent had wanted her to do.  
  
The icy-blue light seemed to have a soul itself, zooming like an arrow towards the already weakened Hojo and entering the mutant's body, blasting him from the inside out. A roar filled the room again, but it was very rapidly changing into the scream of a human. Hojo's monster was no longer controlling the possessed body; the girl-child was taking form again before her eyes.  
  
Half-transformed, the mutant fell backwards, stunned by her attack, and DISAPPEARED INSIDE THE ALTAR.  
  
"What the hell?" Yuffie ran forwards a few steps because, damn, how could a person just vanish into thin air? But before she reached very far, a huge lurch shook the entire cave and she was almost thrown off her feet.  
  
The Icy surface of the room was breaking up, but instead of falling, they rose upwards to meet the ceiling, revealing naked, rocky mountainside beneath their glamorous surfaces. The walls dislodged, tumbling first in small stones, then large boulders, caving in rapidly to fill the space at Yuffie's feet. The altar, however, stood intact in the midst of chaos like a mocking mirage of serenity.  
  
"Vincent!" She cried over the noise of crumbling cavern, abandoning her search and running back to her friend. He was struggling to his feet, blood dripping down his flesh arm. She took a hold of his claw and attempted to drag him out of the dangerous cave. All around them, falling rocks created dents in the once flawless, glassy floor.  
  
"We have to get out of here." Yuffie pulled the injured man further towards the exit, the way they had come. He followed, though with effort, stumbling every few steps. His breath came in hisses of air drawn between his teeth, and the teenager suspected she was hurting the poor guy by yanking him along so forcefully, but she had no choice. It was a 'move their asses or die' situation!  
  
And it was starting to look extremely bad. The entrance to the tunnel appeared miles away, and Yuffie felt she just could not move fast enough. If.if the hole was blocked, if they were crushed. Did she have any regrets? But no! She forced these thoughts out of her head. She had to concentrate on getting both Vincent and herself out alive, they both had responsibilities, one day, they'll look back and laugh at this.  
  
"Vincent.hold on, would you? Hold on." Yuffie was tired. The monster sapped most of her energy, and All Creation took the rest. She was desperate, avoiding the boulders, stones. She was nearly there. a few more steps.  
  
Then she saw a sight that made her heart catch in her throat. The large glass door that had slid open with Vincent's touch was CLOSING.  
  
"Yuffie, go." Despite his injury, her companion's voice sounded as determined as ever. "Leave. Before it's too late."  
  
"If you mean without you, then no way!" Yuffie panted. The door.she had to catch up to it! There is no way it could close them in! She felt trapped in a nightmare, but unable to wake herself up. Death's clutch was getting closer and closer with the closing door, the cave was falling apart, Vincent was injured, and she was scared to death.  
  
"We're almost there." Finally the door seemed a considerable distance away. The ninja tightened her grip on her friend's metal claw. There was a gap, and there was enough time for them to squeeze through. It seemed nothing could stop them, the judgment was near, and it was now or never.  
  
"Vincent, go.AH!" Yuffie's grip on Vincent's claw fell as she felt something sharp cut into the skin of her arm, causing a blazing sting. A piece of the glassy ceiling had sliced a cut, and blood was starting to flow. In the moment of pain, the gap in the door grew ever smaller in slow motion. Another moment later, a human hand and cold metal had grabbed her shoulders and shoved her through the remaining space.  
  
Yuffie was through. Without Vincent.  
  
She heard a sharp crack from behind her and spun around, dazed and confused. What had happened? The stupid man had pushed her through, but now he stood (or fell) on the other side of the impenetrable glass, trapped for.eternity? NO! The ninja battered the surface until the swirling material inside spun even faster. She could hear the cave continue to crumble inside, but could do nothing about it. She ignored the cut on her arm and pounded her fists red, questions running through her head so fast she couldn't catch a single one and hold it long enough to find an answer.  
  
Why had Vincent done such an ignorant thing? Does he think she'd be grateful about it? Why did the cave suddenly fall like that? Was it just to annoy her? How did the glass door close? WHY did it close? Was this her fault? Was Vincent dead because of her?  
  
"Vincent!" Yuffie cried, white anger bubbling so strong inside her that she was unaware of the liquid gliding down her face. "ASSHOLE!"  
  
But the tunnel was silent; there was no one there to console her. She sat on the other side of the barrier for.what felt like.so long, until she was finally calm enough to get onto her feet and head back towards Cosmo Canyon. To get Cloud and the others, to see a friendly, understanding face, to help answer her questions.  
  
To prove to her that there was still life behind the glass door.  
  
  
  
Chapter Five ~ Fin  
  
AN: Oh dear, the last few paragraphs were certainly lame.  
  
Ten pages. Someone shoot me because I think I have broken my own record yet again. Still, much to apologize for in this chapter. One, the bad action scenes. Two, the bad emotional paragraphs. Three, stupidity to the EXTREME.  
  
Ignore me. I need feedback. Review, if you were ever interested enough to make it this far. Thanks to all the people that did follow this story, though. You are the best. 


	6. Chapter Six

The VOICE, Hojo, was angry. Mad, FUMING.  
  
He should have known it was too perfect, his triumphant return to life, the ULTIMATE UNFINISHED PLAN, would take more than calculated. This body was invincible, but his mind...it still needed rest!  
  
One Ultima and one spiritual limit break...such weak magic could not break him before! It was this child; he was her demon. As long as he stayed inside her, he would be weak to such attacks.  
  
Perhaps it was time for backup. Hojo had not wanted to come to plan B, but it seemed appropriate. He did not want to fail again; failures such as the previous were fatal. Perhaps it was the right time to tell his beloved what he had been up to. She would want to know; she had a right to know, and she would help.  
  
All she needed was a sacrifice. The promise of something bloody and powerful that she could devour to gain back the strength she lost. It has to be no normal mortal, for she does not eat such things. No... her sacrifice has to be grand, to be JUICY.  
  
But that part was easy...was it not, Vincent Valentine?  
  
~  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Six  
  
~  
  
Oblivious to everything, everything but the concentration needed for work and the input of effort, Reeve Sith was busying himself with another day in Midgar's damaged terrain. One might think he would have liked to go on vacation with the rest of Avalanche and get a decent break from working, but the man loved Midgar and hated to see its people despair.  
  
It had started to rain sometime yesterday, Reeve thought, but he couldn't be sure. In fact, he had only noticed the rain when it was starting to obscure his vision of the people working beside him. The thunder was ignored totally, for loud sounds were common now with the excavating team from Bone Village and their bombs, hired and shipped here to uncover lost treasure and buried valuables. Money, potions, that sort of thing that was found, was then distributed amongst the team and the people of Midgar, who have, literally, nothing left. Most of the citizens had abandoned their homes with only a small amount of gil given by Reeve, who sold all the mastered All materia he could get to have enough to support them. So far, he had gone through the wreckage of Sector Eight, taking with him the group of workers from nearby villages who had put aside their differences to try and mend the wounds that Meteor had torn through Midgar's flesh.  
  
The ex-president of Shinra's Urban Development Department stood on the remains of the Golden Building now, resting for a brief moment and surveying the rain-blurred view from his place, higher than the rest of the ruins. Under normal circumstances, there would be no way to climb to the top of Shinra Building unless you were an important member of its society, and you wanted to catch a helicopter. But that was all far behind Shinra's history and was going to stay there. For Reeve was not standing in the spectacular hundred-floored centre of Midgar any longer; instead, he was merely perched on another crumpled structure, fallen from grace.  
  
When Meteor fell, Shinra Building was the first to feel its fiery anger, and the first to tumble. Then the upper plates, not built to endure more force than the trampling of its people, bent from its weight and collapsed into itself. The whole of Midgar would have gone next, if not for Aeris and her Lifestream, but the lower part of the plate survived, surprisingly, with six of its eight sectors intact and almost alright. It seemed that, once Reeve had gotten over his grief for his job (which was not very hard) and the death of those in the upper plates, that Meteor and Holy had done a good thing by getting rid of Shinra, to free the people from eternal compression underneath its power. In fact, Meteor had wiped out the organisation so completely that Shinra Building was nothing more than the overwhelmingly large garbage dump that he was currently standing on, and its best weapon, the Sister Ray, was warped and contorted beyond shape, its cannon twisted and burnt black like the discarded skin of a snake.  
  
Reeve, and the other citizens of Midgar, had given up blaming the deaths on someone else. Sure, some could say it was Sephiroth's fault, but most did not have the full knowledge of Meteor's origination, nor the will left to push the guilt. The people of the Floating City were tired; they had endured enough from the days of Shinra. And that not only went for those who suffered an endless dayless and nightless existence, suffocating on pollution in the slums, but also the richer above the plates, whose lives were just cycles that insisted of nothing but work, pay, work, pay...  
  
"It's all over." Reeve Sith muttered to himself as he hopped off from his perch and continued to work, with the rain battering his tired back. "Shinra's all gone."  
  
If only it was...  
  
A wailing almost inaudible reached his ears, but from the moment he heard it, Reeve was sure it was a wail. He walked backwards a few steps, for the sounds seemed to come from below his very feet, but it didn't help. There it was still, getting louder and louder, magnified enough to turn a few more heads from the workers behind the stunned man. Then, as the cry went from just barely heard to an unbearable volume, IT appeared.  
  
Bursting from the rocks that were Shinra's foundation, its hideous body covered in blood and other substances unidentifiable, the huge monster's force combined with its sudden appearance struck Reeve off his feet. But somehow, he could not pick himself up, could do nothing but stare at the ghastly beast that was starting to take appearance. A headless body...what looked horribly like a brain attached by massive lumps of tissue to a stub of neck...a woman's figure just recognizable under layers of ragged skin, covered with blue and purple, bloody veins. Still it grew in size, its grotesque form twisting to get out from the ruins of Shinra that had buried it ALIVE.  
  
"Holy...CRAP!" Reeve seemed to have found his voice at last. He could distinguish the creature, now that it had burst into the open air, its body shining, its life fluid mixing with the rain. His brain protested, his conscience screamed, but his mind was clear and his body numb with terror. He knew what that was...there was no mistaking the thing that he and Avalanche fought so hard to defeat, the mother of all monsters that they had thought dead after all this time...  
  
"It's...JENOVA!"  
  
And so it was. But the tiny sound he issued from his tiny mouth could not match that of Jenova's wailing, threatening to burst his eardrums. He could not see where the horrible noise was coming from; Jenova didn't seem to have a mouth. That didn't stop the siren though; the screeching that seemed to go on for eternity. Reeve was paralysed as he desperately stuffed his fingers in his ears, trying hopelessly to prevent deafness.  
  
~It's like she's trying to call someone...to reach something...~  
  
What seemed like forever later, Jenova's screaming ceased so suddenly that a ringing silence followed. Then, as the monster started to move, trampling over the citizens and the wreckage of Midgar, screams of the people rose higher. Panic swallowed the city as the promised peace vanished like a dream.  
  
Jenova, now just under half the size of a Weapon, continued her slow, destructive rampage through Midgar. She crawled like a snail through the cracked and broken streets, leaving behind her a trail of acid-like liquid. Nothing seemed to be an obstacle for her as she continued, dead straight ahead, crashing into everything in her path and destroying all that Reeve had worked so hard to repair.  
  
The destruction seemed to finally reach Reeve. He grabbed the nearest hunk of metal that seemed a good size for throwing, and chased after Jenova, hurling it as far as he could at the back of her ugly body.  
  
"Take that, you-"  
  
But shock took the rest of his sentence. Jenova's skin devoured the metal, but her mind, or brain, or whatever it was, was not even interested in counter-attacking. There was no stopping her; somehow, she was intent on getting to where ever she was going. West of Midgar...she wants to cross the ocean to the New Continent? Weren't Cloud and the rest of them on vacation there?  
  
But anger and despair had taken Reeve's body for themselves. He tried grenades, bullets, magic, and every other weapon he could get his hands on, but to no avail. Jenova seemed stronger...more desperate...HUNGRIER than she did in their other battles. Exhaustion finally settled in some time later, and Reeve's mind returned. Summoning his trusted Cait Sith with one hand, he took his PHS in the other and dialled Cloud's number with frantic speed.  
  
~I've got to warn them! Jenova is alive! ~  
  
~  
  
"This is blimmin' stupid. Blimmin' stupid and !@#$in' hopeless!"  
  
"Cid, sit still, and if you have to say something, call Tifa and ask for Bugenhagen's condition."  
  
"You tryin' to tell me what to do now, punk?"  
  
Cloud Strife chose smartly to ignore Cid Highwind's last remark. He was not normally a person easy to insult, and right now, he had much more important things to worry about. It was bad enough to be stuck in a tiny car for several long hours with the pilot, and if he also had to argue with him, well, then the trip may just as well as be !@#$in' hopeless like Cid so kindly stated.  
  
The rain, for one, that refused to cease, was beginning to hinder the buggy's wheels with muddy grounds. It had not been so bad a few hours ago when they were still in the wide dry planes of Cosmo Canyon, but now, over Nibel River, they had a hard time squelching through the grass with the buggy's low body and small wheels. One look out the window at the rain brushes that wouldn't go faster than the pace of a snail was enough to tell Cloud that THIS was just another piece of junk from the Golden Saucer prison that nobody would miss. Still, one buggy was all they had to cross the Nibel River. Both the black and golden Chocobos were gone, they would not be able to spot anything from the Highwind in this weather without specific location, and the Tiny Bronco was never made for land. But even with that in mind, riding this stupid machine on the edge of braking down made Cloud reconsider his decision to come out with it so frequently that it was giving him a constant headache.  
  
Were they wasting their time trying to find Vincent and Yuffie?  
  
After all, the only hint they had was the communication device between Flare and Cloud. Vincent's PHS seemed to have entered static country and Yuffie's one was unhelpfully tucked in her bed. The tracking device showed Cloud's Chocobo to be inanimate, constantly staying in the middle of the grasslands of the Nibel area. Blowing on his whistle didn't seem to help; the bird just wouldn't come home. For what reason, Cloud wondered? He sincerely hoped that Yuffie hadn't killed it...  
  
Cloud glanced at his watch and noticed they had travelled for four long hours since midnight, when they had first started. He guessed he should be tired, but also considered that since the beginning of last year, he had not gotten any proper sleep and was probably already used to sleepless nights. Sephiroth had always been a problem in the last year or so, and now, when they should be resting up and recovering from all their bad memories, THIS had to come and happen. But then again, this may be the perfect time for an enemy to plan something like this; Avalanche were relaxing and way off their guard.  
  
But why had they gone for Bugenhagen, of all people? In fact, why was Bugenhagen out in the middle of the night by himself anyway? The old Wiseman might have wanted to go for a short walk; according to Nanaki, he did it all the time. And the creature that harmed him might have been conveniently there, looking for anyone to slaughter, right? It may just have been another hungry Nibel Wolf that wandered too far, right?  
  
No. Nibel Wolves don't inflict that kind of damage. And of course, a mere Nibel Wolf would not have been chased so far by Cloud's two comrades.  
  
So what does that mean, exactly? Was there a new evil they should be aware of? Was history repeating itself now?  
  
Cloud's eyebrows knotted as he felt a fresh headache make its way into his brain. These questions that had been circling in his mind again and again did nothing to help him figure out the answer. He had to concentrate on something else... If all he thought about were monsters and bad dreams, he would collapse into a state of self-pity when that was the last thing they all needed.  
  
Something happier...  
  
Something happier...  
  
Tifa...  
  
As usual, the first real glad thought to creep into his system was his lovely fiancé, Tifa Lockhart. Has there ever been anyone else that was ever able to bring him back to good spirits as effective as her? Maybe Aeris's happiness and flowers made him feel good once, but Aeris is dead, and dead people don't come back. Besides, Cloud knew that, despite all that his mother advised about getting an older girlfriend, and all that Cait Sith had predicted about his and Aeris's wonderful future if only they were together, he had just not loved her as much as he did Tifa. Sure, he did once adore the innocent flower girl, and he still hurts for what happened to her, but he had become what he is today for TIFA. He had gone to the other side of the world to become a SOLDIER, and in the end, no matter how much he said that that action was due to Sephiroth's influence, he knew that it was really to prove himself to her. And when he became nothing more than a Shinra Guard, wasn't he too embarrassed to go back and see her? He knew he would disappoint her, and Tifa's disappointment was something Cloud still could not bear.  
  
But even though he turned out to be nothing more than a slum working for Shinra, Tifa Lockhart was still always there for him. She opened up her heart to him, cheered him up when he was down. She had stayed by his side every second through the horrible ordeal mako-poisoning put him through, and she had thrown herself fearlessly into the burning coldness of the Lifestream just to help him through his confusion...  
  
Cloud Strife had a history with Tifa Lockhart. If Cloud were a fatalist, he would say they were destined for one another. With Tifa, somehow everything just works out. She was always so caring, so selfless, so cheerful...and so beautiful... Her smile so pure and sweet, as if created by an artist with nothing but happiness in his veins...  
  
A bump in the road jolted Cloud unhappily away from his visions of Tifa, and all the coldness and unfairness of his situation returned. The raindrops outside his window were throwing themselves on the glass like kamikaze pilots on a mission, and the wind continued its screaming competition with the thunder.  
  
~I've finally asked her to marry me...and now this happens...~ Cloud thought bitterly. ~As if someone is trying very hard to tell me something. ~  
  
Beside him, the PHS rang shrilly. Even though the mobile belonged to Cloud, Cid snatched it up before he had a chance. The old pilot must be as worried as he was, despite his temper and impatience. Cloud wished to the Gods that the caller was Vincent with good news.  
  
"Yeah, whadayouwant?" Cid spoke gruffly into the receiver. Then after a second: "Reeve, eh? If this's to ask about our blimmin' holiday, now is not the time!"  
  
Cloud tried to mask his disappointment. Reeve, the only Avalanche member not present in their 'vacation', was away in Midgar, situating the surviving citizens in new homes in other towns and trying to find anything valuable in the junk of a city. The battle between the meteor and the Lifestream had left it almost nothing more than a metal scrap yard. One that is eight times the size of a village like Nibelheim.  
  
Reeve, though having to leave his 'Cait Sith' personality behind to gather enough responsibility for this task, was doing surprisingly well. He had assembled groups of people from Kalm, Junon, and other towns alike, and had started to heal the injuries that Midgar left. Even though some people still have grudges against Shinra, they were willing to help Reeve try and mend the organisation's wrongs. Cloud had felt guilty for not being there to help the guy out; after all, Reeve had been an important member of Avalanche as well, and he must also be tired. But the older man would hear nothing of it.  
  
"This is what I really want to do. This is my holiday, Cloud." He had said. "I'll call you if I need you, kid, and there will be a time, don't you worry."  
  
~So maybe he needs our help? ~ Cloud wondered, and his heart sank. ~This is definitely not the time to go saving other people's lives when we have more than enough to worry about. ~  
  
"Issat...screaming I hear behind you?" Cid's question alarmed Cloud, though he tried hard to shake it off. He wished he could hear whatever it was Reeve was saying; the PHS was built to be listened to by the receiver only, and any stander-bys would not catch a word.  
  
Cid stayed quiet for a few moments, obviously listening intently to what Reeve was saying. Through the corner of his eye, Cloud saw the pilot's expression first turn from angry to shocked, then from shocked to dark.  
  
~Please...~ Cloud begged mentally. ~Please, not more bad news... We only had two months of rest and we don't need more to worry about...~  
  
"Whaddaya mean BAD NEWS?" Cid finally erupted, all his emotions fuelling a great ball of frustration and madness. "Do you always call situations like that BAD NEWS, fur-face? How long has this been !@#$in' goin' on?"  
  
"Cid, what is it?" Cloud asked impatiently, defeated. Yes, someone once told him to always look on the dark side so he wouldn't get his hopes up, and in this case, that someone was right.  
  
"Shuddap, asswipe." Cid snapped to him, and continued to listen to Reeve, muttering the occasional 'Shit' when appropriate. When the older blonde finally put down the phone, Cloud was glad. There were about a million things going through his head on what the situation could be, and none of them were pretty.  
  
"So?" He pursued anxiously as soon as Cid dropped the PHS on the seat again. But judging by the pilot's face, with his eyebrows so low they were almost covering his eyes, Cloud was about to bet that something else has happened, not less terrible than the attack on Bugenhagen the night before.  
  
"I'm afraid Midgar got itself into deep shit again." Cid's answer was not comforting. "Jenova is back."  
  
"What!?"  
  
~  
  
Yuffie Kisaragi was not happy. In fact, she couldn't think of a single bloody moment she had been happy in the past...what, eight hours or so?  
  
The line 'Stupid !@#$in' Valentine!' was repeating itself again and again in her head, but was steadily being replaced by thoughts such as 'I hope he's alright' and 'Is this all my fault?' that were annoying her to the brink of annoyance. After all, she didn't ASK to be saved heroically, did she now?  
  
~Is he okay? ~  
  
~Damn him to hell! ~  
  
~How would he get out? ~  
  
~He may not even be alive! ~  
  
~Aren't you even grateful? ~  
  
"Stupid !@#$in' Valentine!" Yuffie screamed out loud, scaring the already exhausted black Chocobo she rode on. Lucia was more than tired; its back was sagging with only Yuffie and her shuriken, when it could have carried two to three average-weighted people under normal circumstances. Not only was Lucia tired, but also it was also reluctant to leave its owner behind. Yuffie went to a lot of convincing to get it moving away from the falls. But the young ninja couldn't spare the mind to worry about the bird's stupid loyalty; after all, she was too tired! There had been no time to recover after the battle, and she was too busy worrying about, or cursing, Vincent.  
  
She had never known he would do that for her, but then again, she never thought she had enough courage to try and drag him out of that cave. She had been alone most of her life, travelling, and she liked it that way. When it came to desperate situations, she would escape selfishly before even THINKING about trying to help others. It may be because that all of her life, she had had no friends good enough to abandon their lives for her, so she developed the same way. Everything she knew before Meteor revolved around herself...leaving Wutai was a such an act; she couldn't bear the thought of being the next Lady Wutai, caring for so many people when she couldn't even care enough about her family and friends. In fact, the only person she remembered vaguely that had some emotional value to her was her mother...and she had died so early.  
  
But after meeting Cloud, Vincent, and the rest of Avalanche, everything started to change. Before, all she wanted out of them was their materia. A rebellious group had to have good, strong materia, right? But soon, she discovered that not only were their magic good and strong, so were their bonds with each other. It was so obvious to see that any one of them would give up their life for another, and that was friendship to an extent Yuffie had not even imagined possible. Soon, she started to gravitate towards the warmth too...and was that altogether a good thing? Not really. If it weren't for stupid 'feelings', she wouldn't be so frustrated about Vincent right now.  
  
She was so ashamed with the way she behaved back at the cave. If she had done something else other than stare in shocked horror at the beast, then Vincent might've stood a chance with it. After all, what had she done to help him? Nothing. It was only when the guy got stabbed and it was almost too late did she come to her senses and use her limit break, but that did hardly any good, did it?  
  
It was just that...for some strange reason...she was so damn AFRAID. It wasn't the grotesqueness of the creature that had paralysed her like some helpless rabbit facing the speed of a car on collision course. Hell, she's seen some much, MUCH uglier creatures. Jenova...Sephiroth...zombies...Sephiroth...ghost dragons...Sephiroth, to name a few. But it was the name of the demon, HOJO, and the aura...or chi, as they called it in Wutai, he was giving out that was horrifying. So evil, so damn twisted, and so...terrifyingly familiar.  
  
She had heard the name a couple of times before, yes, but had never faced Hojo. For all she knew, he was some guy working for Shinra that Cloud, Cid, and Vincent had run into atop the Sister Ray. From what she'd heard, he was well capable of turning himself into an eight-year-old girl, as she and Vincent had seen. His unnatural ways had never influenced her in the past... Why would it frighten her so now, when she was about to turn seventeen?  
  
Why could she swear she'd been scared of him before, not only in this life, but also in the memory of another?  
  
~This is stupid. Telepathic mumble-jumble again. ~ She cursed herself mentally. ~Remember, you said you wouldn't believe this junk even with dad trying to force it onto you every time you meet? ~  
  
But still...  
  
A shimmer of gold blinked in front of her, and Yuffie stopped thinking. It was pointless to go on, she was just going to find a whole heap of lameness with her name on it. So instead, she ushered Lucia in the direction of the gold, sure that she knew exactly what it was.  
  
"Flare!" She called, rain getting in her mouth as she shouted (Damn this GOD FORSAKEN ANNOYINGLY COLD GROSS RAIN!). The bird stayed in exactly the same position, its eyes bulging, refusing to move. It seemed in shock or something, but Yuffie couldn't be bothered to care. She got off Lucia tiredly and swung a boot in the general direction of Flare, kicking the male weakly on one of its wings.  
  
Flare stayed put.  
  
"Oh come on, you stupid bird!" Yuffie grumbled as she nudged it again. "I've endured enough, and I don't wanna go back and tell your stupid owner that you froze to death in my care!"  
  
After a few more attempts at getting Flare to move, Yuffie gave up and hopped back onto Lucia. Fine, the dumb Chocobo could stay there and die for all she cared. She still had a message of help to deliver to Cloud and the others. She still had Vincent, stuck in that cave, waiting for her to come back and rescue him...  
  
~He's not dead...is he? ~  
  
~Damned if I care! Cloud can take care of it. ~  
  
And as if the Gods had heard what Yuffie had been thinking, another golden shimmer appeared in front of Yuffie. A much more powerful one, blinding her for a moment before she could realize exactly where the light came from.  
  
"Cloud!" She cried happily, relieved beyond words as she recognized the familiar shape of the buggy. "Oh thank Leviathan!"  
  
Then all the unnatural strength given to her by willpower disappeared, and Yuffie Kisaragi gave in completely to blackness, collapsing in a limp heap on the muddy ground by the two Chocobos' feet.  
  
~  
  
Chapter Six ~ Fin  
  
AN: I...do not know what to say. So many reviewers told me 'Don't let Vincent die!' and I must admit, I felt good because this means the readers are connecting with the characters, correct?  
  
Anyway, thank you for your reviews, and sorry for the delay. I also wanted to apologise to those particular reviewers, because this chapter does not state what exactly happened to Vincent, though it does give a nasty hint...  
  
Keep reading this, please. I just worked out some sort of plot and I do not want to lose your lovely support.  
  
~Vegg 


	7. Chapter Seven

Through the never-ending sound of rain outside, Bugenhagen dreamt.  
  
He dreamt of the creature without arms, its mouth full of fangs, pulsing with blue radiance and sweeping down to where he supposed he sat. Just before the monster reached him, Bugenhagen blinked, and suddenly he was looking at some sort of evil shadow, indefinable, yet terrible without need of a definite form.  
  
Behind the shadow, three gray flames stood, constantly flickering. He thought they had human features, but the background was so dark he couldn't be sure. Bugenhagen couldn't tell what they were.  
  
The shadow came as if in slow motion. Bugenhagen had enough time to turn his head, to turn his back on the horrible image. What he saw behind him made his heart rejoice and hope sing inside him. While in front of him, it was dark, another form was just behind him, and its simple goodness glowed with pure light. Beside it also stood three gray flames, but they were peaceful and still.  
  
With all his might, the Wiseman turned back towards the darkness. The shadow that was so dark it was like a hole carved into its surroundings, claws outstretched in front of it. He could not back away. He knew he was dreaming but it did not feel like a dream at all. He was not in control; he could only watch as the horrid creatures of darkness came closer and closer...  
  
And suddenly the white light spread; behind him the beauty and its gray fires have moved forward. The darkness screamed as the light came to invade it. The two forces were mingled together, good with evil, evil with good, while their flames also made for the kill. Bugenhagen was in the middle of a battle; one he could not comprehend nor tear his eyes away from. Out of nowhere there were armies to aid each side, weapons of mass destruction, yet the only ones that stood out to him were those flames, and the two shadows. He could not back away; could only watch as they slashed and grabbed and wounded each other. He thought he had screamed, but no sound came out, and in front of him, even though they were bleeding and hurt, the shadows, the flames, made no sound either.  
  
Blood dripped onto an invisible plane.  
  
Blood splattered.  
  
Blood poured like sheets, and the sound of dripping, splattering, pouring blood turned into that of rain. Bloody rain was all that filled Bugenhagen's ears.  
  
And in the center of the battle, in the center of it all, Bugenhagen saw with horror that what the two armies were fighting over was...  
  
~  
  
SHADOWBODY ~ By Crimson Sun  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
~  
  
"Grandpa! Grandpa, what is it?"  
  
"Yo, old dude, stop it! Yo gonna hurt yourself!"  
  
Tifa Lockhart was dozing slightly on the sofa of the observatory when she heard the panicked voice of Nanaki and Barret from across the room. She hastily opened her eyes and jumped to her feet, crossing the distance between them in two strides and kneeling beside beast and man.  
  
She saw what was wrong immediately. Bugenhagen, who had been sleeping relatively calmly in his bed a few moments ago, was now trashing about, his covers twisting about his body. Beads of sweat the size of bullets trickled down from his forehead. His ancient hands were grasping the edges of the bed, knuckles whitened, as if determined to pull the whole thing apart. She watched in horror for a moment, then finally came to her senses.  
  
"Quick Nanaki, do you have any tranquilizers here?"  
  
Nanaki looked at her, worry shooting like beams from his lamp-like eyes. She wished he wouldn't look at her like that. It reminded her that what she was about to do was irresponsible and probably dangerous.  
  
"Tranquilizers, Tifa? Are you sure that's wise?"  
  
Bugenhagen moaned and uttered a weak shout. His face was white, his breathing labored and heavy. His injured arm was moving too much for Tifa's liking. Soon, the wound would open and he would start bleeding again.  
  
"Well, what else can we do? Cure materia doesn't help!"  
  
"There's tranquilizer in the cabinet beside the sofa on the first floor." Nanaki said, turning back to his grandfather. "I just hope you know what you're doing."  
  
"Whatever it's yo gonna do, better make it quick!" Barret said loudly, trying to hold down Bugenhagen without hurting the old man.  
  
Tifa skipped down the stairs two at a time, trying to contemplate while she ran. She wished desperately that Cloud was here, because the truth was, she didn't know what she was doing. She was just acting on what she thought she should do, and maybe it wasn't right. Throughout her life, she was always being presented with these types of situations. She would always do what she felt was right. But the simple fact was, she was never really sure of anything.  
  
She fumbled through the cabinet near the sofa and grasped the tranquilizer. The liquid swished in its glass container, looking acidic and somewhat sinister. Just as Tifa was about to get up, lightening struck outside, illuminating the potion so that it was no longer the dull khaki color it was in the gray of morning, but a bright, florescent green.  
  
~Almost like...almost like the color of...EYES. ~  
  
Tifa gasped and nearly dropped the container.  
  
"Yo 'right down there, Tifa?" Barret asked over the moaning of Bugenhagen.  
  
She gulped before replying. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...lightning scared me. Be up in a sec."  
  
But in that momentary flash, a thought long abandoned crept back into Tifa's brain and she felt she was relapsing into an illness. She shook her head quickly, trying to dispose of it. It was just the stress from all the bad stuff happening. She was just nervous and jumpy because Vincent and Yuffie were missing and because of this bad weather and because their friend was wounded and she was helpless. Going through all this, it could almost be expected she remembered something else unpleasant...  
  
~But was it really supposed to be an unpleasant thought? ~  
  
The sharp ring of her PHS startled her, but Tifa was glad for the distraction. She answered the phone, and was instantly blasted with someone's rough voice.  
  
"Tifa?"  
  
"Cid!" Relief flooded through the young woman. "Have you found them? Are they alright?"  
  
Heavy footsteps sounded behind Tifa as Barret descended the staircase to find out what was going on. She passed the tranquilizer to him mutely and waved him away. Thankfully, he went back to assisting Bugenhagen without question, leaving her to listen to Cid without distraction.  
  
"We found the brat." Cid continued. There was something suppressed in him undertone that Tifa didn't like. "But somethin's happened to Goth boy though we're not quite sure what yet. We're on our way over to some place Cloud calls 'Lucrecia's Cave'. It ring a bell?"  
  
Tifa felt as though ice was crawling up her leg, aiming straight for her throat. Of course she remembered, the day Cloud and herself had followed an almost possessed Vincent through the mountain range and discovered the secret behind the falls. It's where the Woman lived in a form beyond human comprehension, tormented by the past and her own conscience. After returning, Vincent had never spoken of their trip into the Cavern again, and Tifa, who felt she and Cloud should really not have been there in the first place, followed his lead and was silent. Cloud was also quick enough on the uptake.  
  
"Yeah, I know what it is." Tifa answered. The situation was getting too sinister. Could the whole ordeal have something to do with the horrors of Vincent's past? "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"We need ta head over again, but both the birds here are @#$%ed and you know the Bug's not a fly." Cid sighed. "You guys need to load two mountain Chocobos on the Highwind and come pick us up. We're all goin' over the mountaintops where Vincent and Yuffie were last."  
  
"What happened with those two? Why do we need to - "  
  
"Tif, Spike'll answer all your questions once you get here. Jus' come fast as you can, 'k? We're at point 456091 on the map of the Cosmo Region. It'll be on the ship's database."  
  
"I'll try." Tifa answered, shaking her head wearily. "I just wished I knew sooner they were in trouble..."  
  
"And Tifa?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Make sure you're fully equipped when you come, 'k? We're not out of the @#$%in' woods yet."  
  
~  
  
Cloud sat back into the Buggy, drenched. At least the Chocobos were securely now...well, as secure as the protection of a measly tent could provide to two fully-grown Chocobos, anyway. He had tried to communicate with Flare, to soothe the bird a little before Tifa arrived to pick them up, but it seemed to do little good. Lucia, on the other hand, radiated excitement. But she was also exhausted and was thankful for the shelter.  
  
"Did you tell Tifa?" He asked Cid, after getting as much water as he could out of his hair.  
  
"Everything she needs ta know 'cept..." The older man trailed off, sitting back and looking up at the ceiling of the Buggy.  
  
"Jenova?" Cloud finished for him.  
  
"Didn't have the heart." Cid admitted.  
  
Cloud nodded and turned around to look at the backseats of the car, where Yuffie was hunched up in a corner in an old blanket. Her eyes were cast out the window, yet they were empty. After being revived, she informed them of Vincent's whereabouts, but had not said another word. It would've been helpful for her if she mentioned who or what had attacked them, in order to prepare the rest of the team should they face it again, yet she buried her head in her knees every time they asked and Cloud was not cruel enough to keep interrogating her.  
  
~We don't have the time to do a long search of the area. ~ Cloud thought miserably, staring into the Nibel mountains, which were fuzzy at the edges through the rain. ~We have Jenova to deal with. Reeve's crew are holding her back for the moment, but they need us there as soon as possible, and if we don't find Vincent before time runs out, then...~  
  
~  
  
~Is she safe? ~  
  
~Is it over? ~  
  
~Did I let them down? ~  
  
~Did we escape? ~  
  
~Am I alive? ~  
  
~Am I alive? ~  
  
The last thought brought Vincent's mind back into his head. He had not recalled being unconscious or asleep in the first place, so it was a slight shock to find himself somewhere completely unfamiliar. He had metal weights attached to his eyes, every inch of his body pulsed with pain, and he found he could neither move nor feel his limbs.  
  
He also found two opalescent orbs just below his range of vision, staring up at him as if he was a museum specimen. Slowly, a pale face swam into view, building itself around the eyes, so Vincent was now looking at a girl with a lot of long black hair and china doll skin. Then, slowly as well, pictures of her filled his memory, until suddenly, suddenly it all came flying together, hitting his brain from all sides with the force of tiny rockets and giving him the most painful migraine he's ever had in his life. But it didn't matter, because he remembered...  
  
"Yuffie!"  
  
The girl tilted her head and continued looking up at him as he struggled. He found he seemed to be trapped in a sheet of ice, with his limbs and back stuck firmly within the structure and the rest of his body out in the open. He pulled at his arms, willing one of them to break free and crack the ice surrounding, but they were numb and he couldn't even flex his fingers. A few moments later, defeated and gasping for breath, he searched the area for any sign of the Wutainese ninja girl with whom he had come in, but she was nowhere in sight.  
  
~I warned her! If she had listened to me...~  
  
"No use." The girl at his feet spoke. Her voice was not like any child's he had ever heard. It was clear, yet hesitant, and she spoke as though she knew all the woes of the world. Still, at least he could see that at the moment, Hojo was not possessing her.  
  
"Girl escape." She said. Vincent breathed. Yuffie was out, according her, and for the moment, it seemed he couldn't do much else but trust that happy piece of information.  
  
He peered at the girl again beneath the hair that had fallen to obscure his face. She seemed to be glowing somehow; white light was radiating from her eyes and her body and was giving him an even bigger headache. He squeezed his eyes shut, opened them again, and found that the reason she was so dazzling was because of the stainless white garment she wore around her shoulders. It was way too big for her; she looked like a child who had crawled into mommy's closet and more like a doll than ever.  
  
"Who...are you?" He asked her again. He still did not want to believe that Hojo had another offspring. Sephiroth had been enough, and this girl, barely higher than his waist, was destined for more destruction. Somehow, if he could get another answer from her...it would make the pain easier to bear...  
  
"His daughter." She answered after a slight pause, confirming his worst fears. "Ember Hojo."  
  
Ember... Not a bad name. He mused darkly. Did Hojo come up with it?  
  
"Where...did you come from?" If he could communicate with her, perhaps she'll tell him the secret to defeating Hojo again. And also...speaking to her had its element of comfort in it, for some reason. "Do you know...who your mother is?"  
  
"Don't know." Ember's shoulders drooped, as if she was attempting a shrug. The movement looked unnatural and awkward on her. "No mother. Only father. Wake up, find wings. Nothing else. No one else. Then..."  
  
Her thin brows knotted and she bit down on her bottom lip.  
  
"Voice. Voice talks. Voice says name. Later, find..." She paused again. Vincent saw her blink; dark lashes fluttering over pale pupils, with a confused look on her face. "Direction. Kill...blood..."  
  
She stopped talking. Vincent was slightly glad she had. For a moment all he could see was the top of her ebony head, standing out significantly against the shoulders of the white robe-like garment she wore.  
  
"So...where is Hojo now? Do you know?" He inquired as a last question. There was no answer; Ember's chin head drooped, as if she was falling asleep, yet she was still standing. Vincent hung in confusion for a moment, thinking that perhaps the small girl no longer wanted to talk about her terrible counterpart, when suddenly he sensed the air thicken, like the first time he and Yuffie had broke through the barrier leading to Lucrecia's Cave, and the time they had seen Ember transform on the alter...  
  
Ember raised her head.  
  
Her eyes were crimson.  
  
"Having a chat with an old friend, that's where Hojo is at the moment, Valentine." There was a smirk on the child's face, but this was no longer a child standing in front of Vincent, but a demon from the very pits of hell. "I've just been to see how certain operations in Midgar were going, and was informed of a change in plan..."  
  
Plan? Ruby eyes met blood-red ones. What plan? Just what was Hojo planning?  
  
"I guess you won't be dying so soon after all, Valentine." Two small hands reached up to his chest. The wound the needle impaired to Vincent's back flared again, causing black stars to flash before his eyes. They passed as quickly as they came, and somehow, Vincent's vision cleared. He could see beyond the white glare of Ember's outfit. Everything stood out for a single second. He saw her clearly, her youthful face ravaged by expressions not yet known to her age, her hands filthy and unclean with impure blood, and she was dressed...in an adult's...lab coat.  
  
He cried out. It felt as though a fist was forcing itself into the hole already made by Hojo's needle. The moment ended. Everything blurred together again like a painting of smudged colors.  
  
But not before he grasped the name inscribed on the pocket of the lab coat Ember wore.  
  
Lucrecia.  
  
He heard Hojo sigh in the voice of the small girl. "I can't say I'm not disappointed that she has decided to keep you for now, Turk..."  
  
~She...? ~ Vincent had time to wonder. ~Is Lucrecia...here...? ~  
  
Then all went black.  
  
~  
  
Tifa didn't know which she hated most: steering the Highwind through the curtains of rain or trying to ride a Chocobo through them. But when it came down to it, she guessed at least she was dry in the Highwind whereas now she was drenched through, cold, and thoroughly miserable.  
  
As soon as she put down the phone, the remaining Avalanche members at Cosmo Canyon sprang into action. Nanaki had stayed behind to look after his grandfather while she and Barret packed the Chocobos onto the Highwind, and through much testing and close-calls, got it to fly how they wanted. Fortunately, Cid had been very accurate with the bearing and position of the rest of the team, and they were able to find each other without trouble. Now it was just a matter of going over to Lucrecia Falls, where Vincent was trapped, and defeating whatever it was that had attacked him and Yuffie.  
  
Hopefully...  
  
Tifa doubted that things were this simple. She got the distinct impression that Cloud and Cid, now riding on the Chocobo in front of herself and Yuffie (Barret had stayed behind to see if he could improve Flare and Lucia's weakened state), were keeping something from her. Tifa was also worried about the Wutainese girl sitting behind her. Yuffie was not herself; she was leaning on Tifa's back as if exhausted and deprived of all spirit.  
  
"Yuffie?" She asked, without turning around, just to make sure the girl was still breathing. "Are you feeling - "  
  
"I had a dream, Tifa." Yuffie cut her off. Tifa strained her ears to hear the quiet whisper over the pouring rain. "I had a dream about my mother... in Wutai."  
  
"Really?" Tifa hid her confusion as best she could.  
  
"The Wutainese War. Mother was in trouble. Someone caught her...the whole town was in panic...then..."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"I woke up." Yuffie muttered, her voice slightly quivery. "I was so scared, Tifa. I'm still scared...I've been dreaming 'bout mother so often, even hearing her talk sometimes. And I don't know what she wants, she just scares me... Is Vincent going to be all right? I'm scared for him too..."  
  
"Vincent's gonna be fine, Yuffie. Don't be scared." Tifa said, wanting to believe her own words. "And I'm sure you just miss your mother..."  
  
"Hojo scares me the most though, Tifa. Hojo makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. But I've only ever seen him once. Isn't that scary?"  
  
The rain was suddenly colder and harder on Tifa's skin.  
  
"Hojo?" She asked, wishing she could turn around to look at the younger girl. "Is Hojo...Did Hojo take Vincent?"  
  
But Yuffie didn't say anymore.  
  
Tifa's heart was beating an uneven rhythm in her chest. She knew from Cloud that Yuffie had not mentioned her attacker to them, and she was not sure she heard the ninja right. It was definitely impossible! Hojo was dead, and what remained of his body was rotting away in Sector Eight Cemetery, Shinra Block. The mad scientist was capable of many things, but surely coming back to life was not one of them? Hadn't Hojo caused enough pain for all of them in the past to last them each two lifetimes? What else did he want with Avalanche, with Vincent? What else did he want?  
  
~I need to tell Cloud fast! ~ Tifa thought desperately.  
  
"Look out now, the land levels out here!" Cloud called back to them. Tifa could see rocks giving way to grass, and beyond that, the vaguely familiar surface of Lucrecia's Lake. It was gray and no longer sparkling like it was the last time she, Cloud, and Vincent was here, and needles of rain spearing into it made the whole thing ripple, and seem oddly alive.  
  
They headed towards the north end, where the majestic waterfall hid the Cave from view. A few meters from the falls, they all slid off their Chocobos and proceeded along on foot, trudging through the muddy banks of the river. Tifa drew level with Cloud and tugged at his arm.  
  
"Cloud, I think Yuffie told me who was in that cave." She said urgently. "I think it was Hojo!"  
  
"Hojo?" Tifa saw fear light in Cloud's mako-blue eyes. He had never been afraid of much enough to show it, and she knew his old tormenter was something that scared him the most. "But we killed him! On the Sister Ray! He's dead!"  
  
"That @#$%in' mad bastard?" Cid joined in. "I put at least three spears right through him!"  
  
"We should definitely be careful, just in case." Cloud's hand tightened on the handle of Ultima Weapon. The other Avalanche members, except Yuffie, all showed similar signs of readiness.  
  
But they were still not ready for what they saw when they ducked under the falls. Whereas once there had been a tunnel connecting to the circular room where Lucrecia stood on her Diamond Altar, there was just a smooth wall, connected to the rest of the rocky cliff, in their way. There was nothing else; no connection, no door, just an obstruction dead in their way, cutting off all communication with the inside and all hope.  
  
"What the hell?" Cid swore, pushing Cloud aside to get a better look. "Didn't you say there's suppos' ta be a cave here or somethin'?"  
  
A loud whimper sounded behind them. Yuffie was finally showing signs of life. She raced up to the wall, banging her fists onto the surface, kicking it with all her might and screaming: "No! There's a way in! There's a way in! He can't be..."  
  
"Yuffie, calm down!" Tifa grabbed her friend by the shoulders and yanked her away. Yuffie gave way and tumbled into her arms, sobbing weakly into her neck and trembling uncontrollably.  
  
"Stand back." Cloud ordered, his face grim with determination. He raised the Ultima Weapon over his shoulder, and with all his might, hacked the sword into the glass-like surface of the wall. The two made contact with a sinister 'Clang', but nothing more happened.  
  
Tifa, still holding Yuffie, watched as the two men tried everything to try to make the wall give way. Magic...weapons...Cloud went as far as summoning Leviathan, thinking the Water God's power in his prime through the storm, but still, nothing happened. They've done nothing but cover the stainless surface with shallow scratches. All the while, Yuffie's crying became more and more pronounced.  
  
Finally, the boys admitted defeat.  
  
"We can't do anything to it." Cloud seethed, his brows knotted together in frustration.  
  
"And we're afraid to do more, 'case the cliff collapses and kills us all." Cid added.  
  
"Listen, Tifa, we have to get going." Cloud said suddenly, staring Tifa straight in the eye. She understood immediately. He was about to tell her what Cid couldn't say on the phone, and judging by his face, she knew it was of the gravest genre. "Reeve called from Midgar. It seems that Hojo's not the only one back from the dead."  
  
"What do you mean?" She asked, fearing the worst. And sure enough...  
  
"Jenova's alive, Tifa."  
  
The words took a while to register. The fighter's whole body fell rigid, and she could do nothing more but stand, rooted to the spot, staring at Cloud as though wishing he had not said anything and what she just heard was only her own imagination.  
  
"We have to go to Midgar to help Reeve, and we have to go now. We don't know how long he can hold up without us."  
  
"C'mon, Tif." Tifa was aware of Cid, patting her on the back. The Chocobos threw their heads up impatiently. This was no time to be horrified.  
  
"Vincent's a tough guy. He'll find some way out of this, I know he will." Cloud was saying to everyone. "And after we fight Jenova, I promise we'll come back and destroy the cliff if we have to. We'll get him out of there."  
  
In her arms, Yuffie was motionless again. Tifa guided the younger woman back to the green Chocobo they had rode on and helped her up, thinking things could not get worse than they already are.  
  
~Please, God, please just let Vincent be all right...~ She pleaded inside as they trotted off towards the Highwind again. ~Please, just let everything be all right and back to normal...~  
  
~  
  
Chapter Seven ~ Fin  
  
AN: Thanks to those few of you readers who had been following the story (especially Always-A-Kiwi), and I apologize this took SUCH a GODDAMN long time to post up. The reason is I had to find a plot before I proceed any further, or else things would not work out for anybody. Anyway, I think I have found a plausible storyline, at least for now, and you can expect chapter eight to be up hopefully soon, though I am sure it will be delayed.  
  
I remind you that the text inside the ~'s are thoughts. I also take this opportunity to say I do not like Barret and Cid nearly as much as the others, so they may seem overlooked in the fiction.  
  
Review! 


End file.
